<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>follow the stars to me by CC_Writes_Stuff</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28619334">follow the stars to me</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/CC_Writes_Stuff/pseuds/CC_Writes_Stuff'>CC_Writes_Stuff</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Anastasia (1997 &amp; Broadway) Fusion, Amnesia, Canon-Typical Violence, Canon-Typical Xenophobia, Cross-County Road Trips, Dancing, F/M, Feelings Realization, Female My Unit | Byleth, Gen, Getting to Know Each Other, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Inspired by Anastasia (1997 &amp; Broadway), Jeralt Reus Eisner Lives, Kronya in the place of Bartok, Memory Loss, Mentioned Sitri Eisner | Byleth's Mother, Minor Character Death, Minor Injuries, Minor Violence, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pining, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Slow Burn, Sothis is a gremlin, Swearing, Waltzing, but no redemption for her because she’s a bitch, dinner-crashing, fuck the agarthans, messing with canon, no beta we die like Glenn</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-05-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 10:00:32</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>51,059</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28619334</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/CC_Writes_Stuff/pseuds/CC_Writes_Stuff</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>No memories, no family, no life. By isn't sure who she used to be or how she wound up in Derdriu, but she does know that her amnesia stop her from finding her family. Armed with her gremlin cat, Sothis, her fists, and a necklace that says Together in Enbarr on it, she's determined to escape the Agarthan-controlled Derdriu and get to Enbarr to find her family. In order to get there, she has to rely on Claude and Lorenz, the two people who can get her out of the city. </p><p>But Claude is a schemer at heart, and is eager to get his hands on the 500,000 gold reward that Captain Jeralt Eisner in Enbarr is offering to anyone who finds his daughter, Byleth Eisner, the former successor to the Church of Serios who supposedly died twelve years ago, when the Agarthans killed many Church members and Alliance nobles in a bloody one-night takeover of the country. The former Alliance has been teetering on the brink of war with Adrestia and Faerghus ever since. So when By, looking like a dead ringer to Byleth Eisner, stumbles into his lap, and is also looking to get to Enbarr, well... He decides to pull of the scheme of the century.</p><p>OR</p><p>The self-indulgent Claudeleth Anastasia AU that hasn’t left me alone since last October</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jeralt Reus Eisner &amp; My Unit | Byleth, Jeralt Reus Eisner/Sitri Eisner | Byleth's Mother, Lorenz Hellman Gloucester &amp; Claude von Riegan, Minor or Background Relationship(s), My Unit | Byleth/Claude von Riegan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>56</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>105</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. prologue: a ball, interrupted</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>YO! what is UP? Sorry I’ve been gone so long, but Whumptober left me drained of ideas, but I’ve been wanting to do a Claudeleth Anastasia AU since October but we weren’t able to watch it but then we finally got Disney+ so I watched it over the break, started it, but then I got Age of Calamity over the break and spent a week straight playing that and then I wanted to get far enough in to see if I would actually finish this instead of abandoning like I do most multi-chaptered fics and now here we are. </p><p>I will be making some changes to the FE3H Canon to make this work, but will be keeping some key aspects as well. I hope you enjoy, and if you do, please leave a kudos and/or a comment! I'll be planning on updating this on Thursdays unless something out of my control impacts it.</p>
    </blockquote><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Jeralt Eisner is leaving for Enbarr, but he has a going-away gift for his daughter. </p>
<p>Then Thales and Kronya appear.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“And up there, we have the Golden Deer constellation.”</p>
<p>Byleth followed Khalid's extended arm towards the sky, where he was pointing at a group of stars in the rough shape of a deer, antlers and all, shining far away in the dark, night sky. A cold winter wind whispered through the air, bringing the promise of snow later on in the evening.</p>
<p>"It's pretty," Byleth agreed, tilting her head to the side to look at it from a different angle. </p>
<p>“It is,” Khalid agreed, nodding. “Mama's always liked the Great Tree constellation the most, but I don’t agree - I’ve always liked the Golden Deer more.” Pouting, he rests an elbow on the windowsill, and then rests his chin on the palm of his hand. Byleth copied.</p>
<p>Normally, the two of them would be down in the gardens when they stargazed, in the little clearing in the south-easternmost corner of the gardens where no one could find them, but it was winter in Derdriu, and that meant snow on the ground. Not to mention there was the ball going on elsewhere in the palace, the ball both of them were technically supposed to be at. That meant they were confined to looking at the stars and the constellations from the window of the guest bedroom she's been staying at for eight months.</p>
<p>“What about you? What’s your favorite constellation?” Khalid looked at her with curious green eyes, rapping his fingers on the windowsill.</p>
<p>“I’m afraid I don’t know enough to choose,” She said, squeezing the fabric of her dress into her hands. “The only ones I really know are the North Star, the Golden Deer, the Azure Lion, and the Crimson Eagles, and that’s only because my mom made me memorize them. Dad doesn't like it when me and brother stay out late at night.”</p>
<p>He hummed in response. “Well, tell me when you do find your favorite, hmm? Though I bet you a hundred gold it'll be the Golden Deer.” A pause. "Or the white wyvern one. Wyverns are pretty cool."</p>
<p>Byleth was about to ask which constellation that was, but a new voice interrupted her before she could speak.</p>
<p>“Byleth!” It said, and she looked over her shoulder. Her mom was standing at the door, smiling sadly. Her dress rippled out around her, hovering just inches above the floor “Your father’s leaving for Enbarr soon - why don’t you come to say goodbye?”</p>
<p>“Oh,” Byleth hummed, her chest twisting. She had known father was going to be leaving to do business in Enbarr for a while, but… she didn’t expect him to leave so soon. “I thought he was leaving on Friday, with Princess Edelgard and her family.”</p>
<p>“Something came up, so he has to go early,” her mother said, the disappointment evident in her voice. “Come on, your brother has already said his goodbyes.”</p>
<p>“Okay.” Byleth nodded and turned to Khalid. “I have to go, but I’ll be back later. You can show me some more constellations then.”</p>
<p>Khalid nodded. “I’ll be waiting!”</p>
<p>Quickly, Byleth hugged her friend, before turning and flitting across the room to meet her mom, balancing awkwardly on her heeled shoes. Although she was reluctant to head into the crowded ballroom, she was eager to see her dad off before he left. According to him, he might be there for six months at least, maybe longer.</p>
<p>Byleth had been at the Reigan Estate long enough to know the hallways as well as she knows the hedge gardens and stone-lined paths of her own home at Garreg Mach. Khalid was the one who guided her through them when she first came here eight months ago, even showing her the entrances to the servants' corridors as well and the tunnels hidden behind the walls and under the ground of the estate. (How she knew about them, she didn't know. From what little Khalid has told her, she's not sure she wants to). That includes their little hedge garden, but that was a secret only the two of them knew about. Her mom followed behind, making quiet conversation with her.</p>
<p>When they got to the ballroom, Byleth spotted her father immediately, all the way over on the other side of the grand hall, past the grand crowd of nobles dancing on the ballroom floor. By the buffet table, she can see Lysithea, Mercedes, and Annette sharing a plate of sweets, and they bow when spotting her. Byleth nods back, and hurriedly looks away - she's never been comfortable with all of that formality and propiety stuff.</p>
<p>She makes her way through the crowd, weaving between dancers as they waltz on the ballroom floor, elegant dresses swaying in tune with their movements. Lorenz is trying to get Hilda to dance with him, but the pinkette isn’t having any of it, instead talking animatedly to Marianne, who's hiding behind her father as he talks to Count Ordelia.</p>
<p>“Father! There you are!”</p>
<p>Once making it through the crowd of dancers, Byleth bounds up the steps to Jeralt - he’s sitting in some sort of fancy chair, making talk to Khalid’s mother, but the conversation is dropped when he sees her.</p>
<p>“Hey, star,” Jeralt says to her, the barest smile appearing on his rugged face as he turns away from Tiana. “Glad you’re here. I have a little going-away present for you.”</p>
<p>“A present?” Byleth echoes, frowning.</p>
<p>“A present,” her father repeats, and he leans forward, reaching behind him. From behind his back, he pulls out an elegantly carved music box. It’s square, and made out of dark oak wood, and has gold trimmings on it, carved in the elegant design of valerian flowers. Byleth’s eyes widen as he holds it out to her, the box looking small in his hand.</p>
<p>“For me? Is it… is it a jewelry box?” Byleth asks. Her tone doesn’t show much expression, like always, but she knows from the smile on her father’s face that it’s clear on her face. She leans forward, eyes wide, standing on the balls of her feet like that will help her see it better, jaw hanging open slightly.</p>
<p>Jeralt laughs, quiet and rumbling against the quiet music of the ballroom, so different compared to her mother’s quiet ones hidden behind her hands, or the loud, boisterous laughs that Khalid and Sir Alois have. “No, it’s not - it’s something else.” Jeralt sets the music box on his lap, and fishes something out from a pocket in his suit. Byleth steps closer to him, resting her hands on his knees to try and get a good glimpse at the object. “Here, listen.”</p>
<p>He opens his hand up, revealing a small, silver key in the shape of a flower resting on the palm of his hands. There's an inscription of some sort on it, but she doesn’t have time to see what it reads before Jeralt places it into the back of the music box, and he winds it.</p>
<p>It takes a few seconds, but soft music starts to hum from it, and Byleth leans closer to hear it better over the sound of waltz music in the background. Two immaculately carved figures representing herself and her father dancing around in a circle.</p>
<p>“It’s playing our song,” She realizes, her eyes widening in awe. Her father hums the tune as it drifts elegantly from the music box.</p>
<p>“That way, you can play it at night when I’m gone. It’s almost like I’ll be singing to you, my star,” her father says, resting a hand on the girl’s hair before he starts to sing. “On the wind, ‘cross the sea, hear this song and remember.” Jeralt’s voice is low and rumbling, not what one pictures when they think a soothing, low baritone, but it’s calming nonetheless, and fits with the tone of the song.</p>
<p>“Soon you’ll be home with me-“ Byleth continues, closing her eyes. Her father has been singing this song to her for as long as she could remember, ever since she was a kid. Whenever she’s sick, or upset, or angry, he’ll sing it to her, clumsy hands pulling her hair into a sloppy braid as he does so.</p>
<p>“-once upon a December,” the two sing together as the song slows to a close, and the two dancing figures lower back into the box. Jeralt closes the box, and pulls out the key, handing it to the young girl.</p>
<p>“Here, kid,” he says. “Read what it says.”</p>
<p>The young girl takes it, turning it to the side so she can read the words inscribed on it, printed in a shade of blue the same color as her hair, stark against the silver of the flower. “Together... in Enbarr,” she reads aloud, before she looks up at Jeralt. “Oh, thank you, father.”</p>
<p>With that, the young girl slips the necklace over her neck, before she embraces her father in a hug, smiling. But the happy air was quickly ruined when a loud bang sounded from the ballroom doors.</p>
<p>The young girl spun around as the father stood, a hand already going to the sword at his hip as Sir Alois, who had been standing nearby, stepped forward.</p>
<p>Slowly, the crowd parted, and the distinct sound of a glass cup falling to the floor. It cracks under a booted foot. After a moment, a short, lean figure with crimson-red hair flits through the crowd in a black dress and a smile on her lip, followed by a tall, imposing man with black hair. Byleth feels her heart jump up into her throat when she spots the first figure, looking around the ballroom with a confident smirk on her face.</p>
<p>“Monica and Arundel,” Jeralt growls, reminiscent of a bear. He steps to the side and places himself in front of Byleth protectively, while at the same time, a woman with mint green hair steps forward. Her gaze is dark, angry.</p>
<p>“How dare you two return to the palace?” The woman, Rhea, asks with a voice as cold as the winter ice. “You are not welcome here.”</p>
<p>“But we’re your confidants,” the taller man, Arundel, said in a voice that sounds like it’s infested with spiders.</p>
<p>“Confidants?” Rhea scoffed. “Don’t make me laugh. You two are traitors, to the Church and to Fódlan.”</p>
<p>Arundel glares at Rhea. “You think you can banish us underground, never to see the light again? Then it’s only right we shall banish you in return.”</p>
<p>Rhea gasps, and Jeralt pushes Byleth backward, holding an arm out even as she tries to peer around her father to see what’s going on. Out of the corner of her eye, she can see Alois stepping forward, a hand resting on an ax on his back, and the patrons in the ballroom start shifting towards the doors, parents starting to usher their kids away from the traitors. The guards are at the ready, spears and swords and pistols pointed at the two, but they don’t seem to be afraid.</p>
<p>“Mark our words - you and your family will die within the fortnight. We won’t rest until we see the end of you damned Nabateans! For all Agarthans, let there be light!”</p>
<p>With that declared roar from Arundel, he raises a hand with a crystal-shaped object that glows dark purple into the air. The hair on Byleth’s skin rises, and then a bolt of lightning surges forth from the crystal, striking a chandelier.</p>
<p>It snaps, and falls to the ground with a crash, glass scattering about the ballroom floor as the patrons start shrieking and Rhea raises her arms. When the smoke clears, Arundel had disappeared.</p>
<p>At the same time, Monica darts into the crowd, a knife appearing in her own hands. People start to scream.</p>
<p>“Captain Jeralt! Get yourself and the rest of the family out of here!” Alois roars, raising his ax. Jeralt grabs Byleth’s arm, hard enough to leave a bruise, and starts running, pulling the both of them in the opposite direction of the fleeing crowd. Alois follows behind a moment later.</p>
<p>“Hurry! This way!” Some of the guards say, pointing down the hall. Halfway down, though, Byleth stumbles in her run, the music box falling from her hands. Her eyes widen, but Jeralt doesn’t seem to notice her dilemma as he keeps pulling her forward.</p>
<p>“My music box!” Byleth says, and she yanks her arm out of her father’s grip, turning and running to pick up the square box that had fallen to the floor. Jeralt attempts to stop his daughter, but she’s faster, scrambling to the ground to grab it as Alois follows.</p>
<p>Gunshots start to echo in the distance, followed by the sound of glass breaking. Byleth skids to a stop in front of the music box, dropping to her knees and covering her ears in response. She can feel her heart pounding in her throat, the unfamiliar feeling of fear that winds through her blood and her veins as her mind starts to race.</p>
<p><em>Run! Run, run run!</em> Her mind is screaming at her, but her body doesn’t seem to respond, caught between the flight and fight mode. Jeralt sees this, and he sees Monica at the end of the hallway.</p>
<p>They make eye contact. Monica grins, something wild and sadistic, and Jeralt sees the gleam of her dagger. His heart drops into his chest, and he pours more speed into his run - he’s closer to his daughter, but she’s faster. Byleth is unaware of the danger, a deer caught frozen in a trap.</p>
<p>Monica’s quick, quick like lightning, darting from the end of the hallway with a speed Jeralt could only hope to match, and she reaches Byleth far faster than he would’ve, despite the distance. Jeralt almost doesn’t make it.</p>
<p>But, thank Sothis, he does, drawing his sword at the same time Monica lashes out. His sword clangs against Monica’s knife, and the assassin jumps back, glaring. Jeralt follows up fast, landing a hard kick into Monica’s stomach.</p>
<p>Byleth, now fully aware of the danger, snatches her music box up and scrambles away. The blood pounds in her ears, and her free hand is curled into a fist so tight her fingernails dig bloody half-moons onto her palms, before another hand grabs that arm.</p>
<p>“Come on, let’s go!” Jeralt says as Monica gets thrown back. Alois, who had managed to catch up with them obeys, dragging the young girl away. By stumbles to her feet and follows, her steps clumsy as she tries to get her legs to cooperate with the rest of her body.</p>
<p>Shots sound in the distance as they run down another hallway, weaving until they enter her bedroom. Alois slams the door shut, locking it, and Jeralt looks around the room, a grimace on his face.</p>
<p>Byleth spots Khalid first, a lump hiding under the covers of her bed, but she sees him poking his head out from the cocoon he’s wrapped himself up in. His emerald eyes widen when he spots them, sparkling not with mischief, but with fear.</p>
<p>“W-what’s happening?” He asks, his voice shaking. By runs over to him as he untangles himself from the covers, throwing her arms around her friend, squeezing tightly. </p>
<p>“We’re being attacked,” Jeralt says, getting right to the point. Byleth winces - out of all the things her father is known for, tact isn’t one of them. Khalid flinches in her grip, and Byleth takes pity on him and lets him go. “We need to get out of here, but they’ve probably got the exits blocked.”</p>
<p>“Find them! Don’t let them escape!” Monica can be heard shouting as Alois and Jeralt back up, hiding the young girl behind them.</p>
<p>“Oh!” Khalid exclaims, straightening up. Byleth watches with some curiosity as he heads over to a wall, and feels something akin to relief flooding in her chest as she realizes he’s pressing the button that opens up the door to the servant’s corridors. The false door next to the potted-plant hidden-button opens up, and Khalid gestures for them to take it. “In here!” He says in a fearful whisper, waving them forward. “T-this should take you out!” Alois starts to pull the young girl into the hallway as more gunshots ring down the hall.</p>
<p>“Thanks, Khalid,” Alois mutters to the kid as he passes. Jeralt hurries Byleth over there, barely giving her time to breathe.</p>
<p>“Hurry, kid!” He says as he pushes her forward into the semi-darkened corridor, inadvertently making her stumble and flail at the wall for balance. The music box falls from her hand, and clatters to the floor.</p>
<p>“Damn it - open that door, now!” Monica’s voice is muffled, coming from right outside the door. A moment later, banging sounds are heard.</p>
<p>“Wait, the music-“ She starts, turning around, but Jeralt doesn’t give her any time to rest, pushing her forward again. The last thing she sees before the door closes is Khalid’s eyes, wide and fearful, and Byleth feels her heart stop.</p>
<p>No, she can’t leave him or the music box behind, and tells her father as much. But he turns a deaf ear to her claims as he picks her up and rushes forward, leaving them behind.</p>
<p>Back in Byleth’s room, Khalid turns away from the secret door, feeling his heart in his throat as the main doors bust open. A tall man with skin so pale it's almost white - no, it’s an ashy grey color, like… like he’s <em>dead</em> - stalks through. A woman with red hair - Monica? - follows. There’s a snarl on his face that distinctly reminds him of an angry wyvern.</p>
<p>“Where are they, boy?!” She hisses out, pointing her dagger at Khalid. Khalid backs away, only to freeze when he feels his back hitting the wall. He can’t speak, can’t move, can’t even breathe as the redhead marches over to him.</p>
<p>Apparently, no response is enough of a response. The flaring of her nostrils is all the warning Khalid gets before she rams a knee into his gut. Pain spikes through stomach, and he doubles over, wheezing. But he doesn’t even have a second to catch his breath.</p>
<p>A hand grabs his tunic, and tosses him to the side, sending him crashing into a table against the wall, sending a potted plant to the ground. Stars explode in his head, a ringing sound joining with the pounding of the blood in his skull.</p>
<p>Still, he tries to push himself upward to fight, to protect Byleth, to find his mom, but falls limp, his eyes fluttering shut as the pain overtakes him.</p>
<p>The music box sits beside him, forgotten.</p><hr/>
<p>The palace is in flames.</p>
<p>They’re bright against the dark of night, the red and orange clashing against the dark blue of the night sky and the ocean sea. The glowing flames stretch towards the sky, licking at the stars, hungry for the oxygen it needs to keep growing like the parasite it is.</p>
<p>Jeralt, Alois, and Byleth are running, running far away from the palace. Away from the palace, the cold winter air, made colder by the ocean, bites at their skin and howls like a wolf hunting for food. The snow has long gotten through the outer shell of Byleth’s shoes, and are starting to soak and freeze her feet and toes. She wants to stop.</p>
<p>They don’t.</p>
<p>Instead, they keep running, stumbling through the forest that separated the Reigan Estate from the rest of Derdriu, until Byleth recognizes that they’re close to the train station at the outskirts of town, following other people running for their lives.</p>
<p>“Come on, just a little bit more!” Alois shouts, as they shove their way through the crowd. There are shouts and shrieks as they move, Jeralt and Alois far ahead of the Byleth and her tiny legs.</p>
<p>“Hurry, kid, hurry!” Jeralt shouts as they reach the train; the train that’s starting to move. Byleth’s heart leaps into her throat, and she pours as much speed as she can into her run, but her energy is waning, fast, and the cold had gotten to her a long time ago. It stings her lungs, her eyes, and uncoordinates her, making her limbs refuse to follow what her brain commands.</p>
<p>Alois gets there first, grabbing the bars at the end and hauling himself over it, before turning and practically pulling Jeralt over. Once Jeralt has righted himself, Byleth sees him turn to her as she frantically tries to keep up with the moving train.</p>
<p>“Take my hand, kid!” He leans forward, extending a hand to grab her, but his hand can only reach her fingers - she’s too short and falling behind too much to truly, properly, grab his hand.</p>
<p>“Don’t let go!” Byleth shouts, and even she can hear the panic in her voice. But her fingers are getting numb from the cold and the train is picking up speed and her legs and lungs burn with adrenaline and-</p>
<p>-and the platform ends.</p>
<p>And her hand slips from Jeralt’s.</p>
<p>And she falls to the ground, her head cracking against the metal rail of the train track.</p>
<p>“Byleth!” Jeralt shouts, ready to jump off, Alois right behind him, but the other passengers hold them back.</p>
<p>As startled and concerned citizens crowd around Byleth, the train speeds off into the night.</p><hr/>
<p>Inside the palace, Khalid comes to, slowly, to smoke and flames.</p>
<p>He coughs, as he pushes himself upwards, his chest rattling and hurting with every breath. When he presses a hand to his chest, he winces when a jolt of pain shoots through it. The attackers and Monica are long gone.</p>
<p>“Byleth…?” Khalid gasps out, stumbling to his feet. He sways, the ground shifting and rolling under his feet, and the smoke burns at his eyes and his esophagus. He coughs again, wincing as his chest protests the sudden movement. He wants to call for his mom and dad, too, but his throat scratches too much to do so.</p>
<p>The palace is in flames. It hasn’t reached the room he was in yet, but he can see it through the windows, the flames licking at the northwest side of the palace, and he can tell by the smoke it’s close to where he’s at. He has to run.</p>
<p>No, he has to find his mom, find his dad-</p>
<p>But he has to get out of here before the fire reaches him-</p>
<p>But what about Byleth?</p>
<p>All these thoughts run concurrently through his head, one after the other, and leaving him with no direction other than he has to move. Khalid stumbles forward, coughing, only to pause as something catches his eyes.</p>
<p>The music box sits on the ground, forgotten. Khalid doesn’t give a second thought as he bends down and plucks it off the ground.</p>
<p>The hidden wall door is open, Khalid realizes when he bends up. Ice creeps up his chest, cold and gripping, and he peers into the dark.</p>
<p>They had gotten through. They had gotten in the door. How fast had they gotten in the door? Had Jeralt and Byleth and Alois been able to escape? What about his mom? His dad?</p>
<p>If he had a lamp, if the palace wasn’t on fire, if he was braver, Khalid would check. But alas, he did not have a lamp, the palace was on fire, and Khalid was not brave like his mom was, so he limps away from his frie- from Byleth’s guest bedroom, clutching the music box close to his chest, and his heart heavy.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hey! I hoped you liked the first chapter! The reason why I made placed Thales and the  Agarthans in the role of Rasputin was because I feel like Edelgard would go more with the Kingdom and Church than the Alliance, Shambala is situated in Alliance territory, and with Byleth having that connection with the Church and the Goddess in canon, it just makes more sense to have the Agarthans be Rasputin.</p>
<p>(Also, I hate Thales and Kronya with a passion, and I hate the fact that FE3H lore doesn’t ever even touch upon the fact that Thales knows about Byleth’s time travel abilities?? It’s touched upon Once when Jeralt died and then is never explained or brought up or even mentioned in passing?? In any of the routes?? What the Fuck is up with that? Motherfucker dies before we can get any answers from him and No One else knows about Byleth’s time travel abilities aside from herself, Sothis and That Bitch. [and maybe Edelgard because she has the same Crest of Flames but I doubt it. She might have memories at least, more so than most, and a suspicion, but nothing concrete]. Deadass doesn’t even explain Why Kronya killed him, unless it was just to get Byleth to the sealed forest so Solon can trap Byleth in the Void™. It just seems like a weak-ass plot line so Jeralt dies and doesn’t reveal anything   ✨💕incriminating💕✨ against Rhea and/or the Agarthans [and maybe Edelgard] to keep the suspense and mysteriousness of Rhea and her past) Anyways rant over.</p>
<p>Also, in this, Rhea is a descendant of Serios and not Serios herself, meaning Sitri isn’t a vassal to bring Sothis back and never dies in childbirth which means Byleth does have a heartbeat and no Crest Stone for a heart, but more on that will be explained later on in the story.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. a rumor on the streets</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In Derdriu, rumors are floating around that Byleth Eisner, the former successor to the Church of Serios is alive, and no one is more interested in Claude Oswald, especially with the reward Jeralt Eisner, currently residing in Enbarr, is offering. All he and Lorenz have to do is find someone who can play the part.</p><p>Meanwhile, outside the city, By prepares to leave the orphanage she’s been in since she was found without her memories and a necklace that says Together in Enbarr. In order to get her visa, she needs to find Claude Oswald and Lorenz Rose.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Here we go, the Official Chapter 1: Takes place twelve years after the prologue. Since Byleth is canonically older than every student except for, like, Mercedes and Balthus, it feels odd to have her be 5 years older than Lysithea and Cyril for this au, so I'm lowering her age so she's about a one-two years ahead of the house leaders instead of 3. Estimated ages are as follows;<br/>Byleth: 24<br/>Claude: 22<br/>Lorenz: 23</p><p>Due to this being in the odd grey 5-year timeskip area, let's just say everyone has their post-timeskip designs, and the ages of the other characters are around 20-23 depending on the character (like Leonie would be Byleth's age). Also, there is a reason for why Claude has the last name Oswald instead of von Reigan, which I'll explain later on.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Claude</p><p>“Fourteen years in this damn country, and I still can’t handle the cold,” Claude mutters to himself as he shifts through the residences of Derdriu, wrapping his arms around himself. This late in December, the ocean air makes even the slightest drop in temperature seem freezing.</p><p>Winters in Almyra were never this cold.</p><p>But Almyra was a great distance away, both in his memory and the land. The border had been locked for twelve years, ever since the fall of his uncle and grandfather, and Claude hadn’t stepped foot in his home country since he was a kid.</p><p>Well, at least he’s not in Faerghus.</p><p>Normally, that tidbit usually makes him feel better, but it’s just not doing its usual justice today. After all, Derdriu is cold enough on its own, money is tight, and all the clothes he owns are thin, ragged, worn down.</p><p>Shivering, Claude ducks down a seedy alleyway, which is one of the many that leads to the black market in Derdriu, far away from the market stalls that sell fish and fabrics and fresh food traded from Fhirdiad, Almyra and Sreng. Somewhere down these alleyways is the Ashen Wolves shop, which moved from place to place like tides moved in the sea. It was the best place for Claude to haggle his own ill-gotten goods, swiped from houses and unsuspecting Agarthan soldiers in the street, even the occasional ship or two, if he’s desperate enough.</p><p>And he’s getting desperate. Money is tight, getting tighter every day, and so are the borders to Almyra and Adrestia. He and Lorenz have been saving money, and they’re <em>this</em> close to getting passports out of Leicester, but it’s just not enough, especially now that more of the money needs to be funneled for winter clothes.</p><p>Sure, he could enter the underground fighting tournaments in Derdriu, but he had no idea where the hell they took place and not one brawling bone in his body. Besides, from what he’s heard, it seems no one can beat the current Champion, the Ashen Demon.</p><p>But he’s determined to do it. Claude hadn't lived through the slaughter to die in some dingy port city in a country that hated his kind controlled by the worst group of people ever.</p><p>Finally, Claude sees the painted wolf picture that Yuri and his crew take their name from. The man in question is haggling with a young girl with brown pulled back into a high-rise ponytail. Claude waits, patiently, for Yuri to finish, tapping his foot on the ground until the woman leaves.</p><p>“Ah, back so soon, cutie?” Yuri says in that sugary-sweet voice of his, winking at Claude as he fishes out the three necklaces and pack of fancy-looking cigars he’s managed to snatch today. Claude scowls.</p><p>Over the eight years he’s been stealing, Claude’s formed an interesting relationship with the man. Although they both harbor the same mindset for schemes and stealing and all other manners of black-market trades that keep them alive, Yuri has always just… bugged him. But he offers the best prices in the city, so Claude can put up with him for a few minutes once or twice a week, even if he wants to wring his neck every time Yuri calls him cutie.</p><p>“Well, Yuri? How much for these?” He asks, gesturing towards the meager items he’s brought. Yuri hums, his eyes darting towards the goods, and he picks up one of the necklaces, studying it with a critical eye.</p><p>“Ooh… These are very nice, Claude,” he says, and Claude raises a brow. That has to be good, right? It has to be worth something.</p><p>Yuri takes a few minutes to analyze each necklace, two silver and one gold, as Claude stands in the crowd, freezing his ass off. He hates this part, because Yuri has a keen eye, able to tell Claude if what he brings is something cheap disguised to look fancy and is worth less than he thinks it is, but it also allows him to see if what he brought is much more worth its weight than it looked, and liable to fetch him a hefty sum of money. It’s a fifty-fifty coin flip of a chance, and Claude can never tell which way up the coin will land.</p><p>Looking at the cigars only takes five seconds. Yuri sets the box then, then looks up at Claude.</p><p>“573 coins,” Yuri said. Claude’s jaw drops, and he hurries to pick it off the ground.</p><p>“You’re joking,” he states, shooting Yuri his signature smile and wink as he leans on the wall behind next to the stand. A shake of the head.</p><p>“Nope,” Yuri replies, popping the ‘p’ as he interlaces his fingers and rests them behind his head, leaning back in his chair. “It’s all low-quality, fake gold, Claude. No one but the Argathans have money to throw around anymore.”</p><p>He knew that, but it still feels like a slap to the face.</p><p>“Come on, man,” Claude says, letting only the tiniest whine of desperation slip into his voice. “I’ve been a loyal customer of yours for seven and a half years. Can’t you give me something better, like 600 straight?”</p><p>Yuri narrows his eyes, and he leans forward, his chair creaking with the movement as he sets his elbow on the rickety stand with his own ill-gotten goods on it, before plopping his head onto the palm of his hand. “580.”</p><p>Claude narrows his eyes right back. “590.”</p><p>“585. Final offer.”</p><p>Fixing a glare on Yuri, Claude ponders it, but his options were limited. Claude has been going to Yuri and Wolves for seven and a half years, and if he was just starting, this probably would’ve been 550 and no more. Yuri was the best person to go to, and it was likely that no one else would give him anything better. He runs a hand through his hair, gazes darting between the items he brought and Yuri.</p><p>Yuri, the bastard, grins. It’s like he can read his mind.</p><p>“Fine. 585,” Claude says, looking skyward, before looking down again.</p><p>“A fine deal,” Yuri says in that smug tone of his that makes him want to punch the man. The only reason he doesn’t is because if he did that, he’d lose the rapport he’s built up with the man.</p><p>Yuri collects the goods, and hands Claude a handful of gold and silver coins.</p><p>“Tell Balthus I said hi,” Claude says to the violet-haired man as he turns to leave.</p><p>“Hold on, Claude,” Yuri says before he can, making Claude pause in his step, looking over his shoulder with a raised brow. “I want to know if you’ve heard the rumors.”</p><p>“There are hundreds of rumors that spread through Derdriu in a week, Yuri,” Claude replies, unimpressed. “You’re going to have to be more specific.”</p><p>A Cheshire cat smile appears on Yuri’s face as he leans forward conspiratorially, resting his chin on his hands. “That Byleth Eisner is alive.”</p><p>Claude blinks. “Yeah, I have.” It was practically his job to be informed, and one of the two only good pieces of news as of late. He turns to leave again.</p><p>“Well, have you heard that Captain Jeralt Eisner is willing to pay 500,000 gold coins for her safe return?”</p><p>“Yes.”</p><p><em>Everyone</em> had heard the rumors, lately, that the former successor to the Church of Serios, Byleth Eisner, had escaped the slaughter of her family twelve years ago. That was the other good piece of news, especially for the desperate, like him. It had sprung the stalls of the black market, the day market, and the port, to life, being passed from ear to ear, spreading like a disease. Claude wasn’t sure how they started, or where they came from. They had just appeared, spreading with a fervor that could rival an Almyran in a battle, fleeting hope to grab onto when the Agarthans had taken everything else. It seemed even the ‘fearless leaders’ of the country couldn’t keep a handle on it. They had to be pissed.</p><p>
  <em>“Where are they, boy?!” A red-haired woman hisses out, pointing a knife at Claude’s face, surrounded by an entourage of assailants storming the palace. A pain in his gut as he’s tossed to the side, and flames welling up around him-</em>
</p><p>Yuri chuckles. It snaps Claude out of his unwelcome trip down memory lane.</p><p>“Very well. I just wanted to make sure you knew.”</p><p>Oh, Claude knew about them, alright. And he was going to do something about them, before the Agarthans could track down the two people swiping gold, jewelry, and other fancy, shiny, and expensive things from their most loyal supporters right back to the source.</p><p>He was going to pull off a scheme, and the biggest one in history.</p>
<hr/><p>“Any luck with procuring a theatre?” Claude asks once he meets back up with his friend, Lorenz, at their usual rendezvous.</p><p>Friend, really, was a bit of a stretch, though. Claude remembers him before the slaughter twelve years ago, but he hadn't seen hide nor hair of the man until they had run four years ago, inside the once-great palace Claude had lived in. He’d been bumming off of it, since it was empty and abandoned and he didn’t have to pay rent or have too many people asking questions about him, when Lorenz snuck in, running from the Agarthans that killed their fathers, and looking for a place to stay.</p><p>He used to be the son of Count Gloucester, a member of the Five Great Lords of the Alliance twelve years ago. He'd known Lorenz back then, but because of his blood and Lorenz's position within the Alliance, they hadn't spoken much, and were barely more than acquaintances when the slaughter happened. Even after they ran into each other, Claude was a stranger, with a new name to blend into the country (there was only a little hesitance on Claude's part at taking his uncle's first name for his own last, but it would help him blend in with the other people there instead of his father's Almyran one or, even worse, von Reigan), and he looked just enough different from the boy that he had been that Lorenz hadn't recognized him. </p><p>Just like last time, they hadn’t gotten along at first, but four years and some hard times later, Claude could say with great certainty Lorenz was the closest thing he had to a friend in… well, twelve years. <em>Partnership</em> might be more of an accurate word, though. Their bond was formed from a mutual desire to live in this stars-damned place.</p><p>But given their respective pasts and bloodlines, it was pretty impressive, if Claude did say so himself.</p><p>“I did, in fact,” Lorenz said with his chest puffed out like a peacock. Even though the man hadn’t been a part of nobility for twelve years, he sure acted like it.</p><p>“Wait, really?” Claude asked, genuinely surprised. A theater was a lot of money, after all.</p><p>“Yes I did, and for only two hundred coins, too, Claude.”</p><p>Despite himself, Claude grinned, clapping Lorenz on the back. “Alright, my man!” He said as Lorenz stumbles forward. “Everything‘s going according to plan. All we need to find is our Byleth.”</p><p>“What a task that will be.” Lorenz shakes his head, sighing. “It won’t be easy.”</p><p>Claude loops an arm around Lorenz’s shoulders and extends his other one out. “But think about it, Lorenz,” he replies, waving at the sky. “No more forging papers. No more living in a freezing, abandoned palace. No more haggling for the basic necessities one needs to survive, like food and clothing. Three tickets out of here - one for you, me, and our Byleth, all the way to Enbarr. Five hundred thousand gold coins - we’ll be rich! You can work for the Captain again, and I’ll be out! The biggest con in history, pulled off by the most unlikely duo. And all we need to do is find our Byleth.”</p><p>Lorenz sighs a familiar, weary sigh. “Still, it feels a little… unethical, to trick a man into thinking his daughter is alive, don’t you think? I know this new rule has been hard on all of us, but-“</p><p>Rolling his eyes, Claude stepped in front of Lorenz, grabbing his shoulders. “Listen, Lorenz. This allows us to get out of here, and if we’re really lucky, get enough money to get back on our feet. And Byleth Eisner is dead. She’s been dead for twelve years, and Jeralt has to know that.”</p><p>She’s dead because Claude couldn’t save her, because he wasn't fast enough, strong enough, to protect her. Captain Jeralt Eisner had made it to Enbarr, but Byleth Eisner never did, and it was his fault, because maybe, if he protected the door better, they never would’ve gotten through, never would’ve been able to kill Byleth.</p>
<hr/><p>By</p>
<hr/><p>“Are ya’ sure this is going to work, By?” Cyril asked By as he leans over her shoulder, peering into the suitcase she’s packing. “Isn’t getting a travel visa, like, super dangerous?”</p><p>“It is,” By confirmed with a nod, shoving her meager mess of clothes into the suitcase. “But don’t worry, Cyril - I’ve found a way.”</p><p>“That’s… not what I was asking.” The young boy frowned, amber eyes setting onto the suitcase, before shooting up to By. “I’m asking if you’re gonna be okay gettin’ it.”</p><p>“I’ll be careful, Cyril,” By said, zipping up the suitcase, before she reached up and ruffling his hair. Cyril squawked, batting at her hand.</p><p>“Hey! How many times have I told you not to do that?” The kid asked, leveling a glare at By, but there was no heat behind it.</p><p>“Oh, indulge me here, Cyril. I’ll be leaving Derdriu soon,” By said, a sad smile on her face. She stood up from where she was kneeling on the ground, her gaze darting towards the window that showed off the ocean view, blocked by two boats sitting in the harbor. Cyril pouted, frowning.</p><p>“I wish you weren’t going, By,” the kid mumbled, crossing his arms over his chest.</p><p>“I wish you could come with me,” By said in response as she took a seat next to the boy. The bed creaked and groaned under her weight, showing off its age. “But your home is here. Mine’s in Enbarr.”</p><p>Cyril sighed. “I know. I know this day would always come, but it still doesn’t make it any easier.”</p><p>By sighed. “Me either. But I have to get to Enbarr - I have to find my family. I have to find whoever it is this necklace belongs to.”</p><p>She slips a silver necklace with a flower key attached to it from under the hem of her shirt, showing it to Cyril, even though he’s seen it a thousand and one times. <em>Together in Enbarr,</em> it says, written in blue script. Cyril nods, once.</p><p>“Yeah, I know. But I still wish you weren’t going.” He leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees. “I still wish it wasn’t so dangerous for you.”</p><p>“I’ll be fine, Cyril,” By promised him. “I’ll even send you a letter once I arrive in Enbarr, and another once I find Leonie, Ignatz, and Raphael.”</p><p>“Tell them I said hi,” Cyril said, before wrapping By in a hug. By returned it, ruffling Cyril’s hair.</p><p>“I will,” she said.</p><p>A sudden weight landed on her legs, and Byleth looked down to see Sothis the cat hopping up onto her legs, before crossing over to Cyril’s lap and headbutting him in the stomach. Cyril let out a small ‘oof’. By smiled.</p><p>“I think Sothis is going to miss you, too,” she said, running her fingers over Sothis’ hair.</p><p>“Aw, I’ll miss you too, girl,” Cyril said, petting her as well. By, meanwhile, stood up and picked her suitcase up off the floor, the pendant on her waist bumping against it.</p><p>“Well, I should get going,” She said, picking a scarf up from her bed and wrapping it around her neck, an attempt to protect her against the cold of Derdriu winters. “I’d like to make it to Derdriu before nightfall.”</p><p>Cyril stood up, causing Sothis to leap down from his lap and walk around By’s legs. “Alright… Well, I guess this is goodbye. I’ll miss you.”</p><p>“I’ll miss you too, Cyril,” By said, before patting her leg and extending a hand towards the bed. “Come on, Sothis, let’s go. We’re going to Enbarr.”</p><p>The year-old kitten hopped up onto the bed, before running up the offered arm to wrap around By’s shoulders and settling into her scarf. Cyril pouted.</p><p>“One day, I’m going to find a cat that will do that to me,” he pouted. By smiled.</p><p>“I’m sure you will,” By said, letting Sothis nuzzle her hand. “Bye, Cyril.”</p><p>With Sothis on her shoulders, suitcase in her hand, and the <em>Together in Enbarr</em> necklace, By exits the room and goes down the main floor of the orphanage, avoiding most of the other kids there.</p><p>Twelve years.</p><p>Twelve years since she was found on the side of the road with a gash in her head and only fleeting memories of her life before she was found. Twelve years she’s been in that orphanage, fighting against the other kids for scraps of food and clothing, twelve years of staring up at the sky and wondering where her family is, twelve years of looking for a way out of Leicester to get to Enbarr and find her family.</p><p>It’s been her dream, for a long time, and only the money and the travel visa stood in her way. By had been saving for the past eight years, since she was sixteen and started doing odd jobs in Derdriu, but the travel visa had been the real problem. After all, the Agarthans didn’t like letting people out of the country, and although you could get one in the Derdriu black market, they weren’t cheap, or even accurate half the time. By had spent the last seven years looking for a way to get a travel visa that wouldn’t get her killed.</p><p>And she finally found it.</p><p>If her former fellow orphanage-goers, Leonie, Raphael, and Ignatz were to be believed, then there were two people who could help her get the visa. Claude Oswald and Lorenz Rose in Derdriu had helped her three friends to get theirs so they could leave the country and told By about it before they left.</p><p>Now, it was her turn to get the visa and travel west before the borders closed, to find the owner of this key. To find herself her family.</p><p>Still, it didn’t make leaving the orphanage behind any easier. It was where By had lived for the past twelve years, and she was friends with many of the older kids there, who had never managed to get adopted - Dorothea, with the voice of an angel; Ashe, a former thief who was caught and was given the choice to stay here or go to jail, and Cyril, wanting to find and repay the person who saved his life. All of them were so dear to By’s heart, and made the ten years of loneliness and longing a bit easier to deal with, and they were the only ones who knew what she was doing. Anyone else might spill her secret, whether accidental or intentional, and it could put her at risk to tell anyone else.</p><p>There was also Leonie, Raphael, Raphael’s sister, and Ignatz, but they had left Derdriu for Enbarr weeks ago, each of them with a separate goal in mind. They were the ones who pointed By as to where she could get her visa.</p><p>Now, all she has to do is get it, get out of Derdriu, and, with a little luck, get to Enbarr unscathed.</p><p>The route to Derdriu is a familiar one, one she’s taken many times before. But this time will be her last. It’s that last thought that pushes away By’s somberness and makes her skin crawl. She’s always wanted to get out of Derdriu, but now… the prospect seems much larger than it originally did.</p><p>Still, she’d come too far and spent too much time into making this trip a simple possibility for her to turn back now. By would get to Enbarr, even if it cost her her life.</p>
<hr/><p>It doesn’t occur to By that she doesn’t know where, exactly, Claude and Lorenz are until she reaches Derdriu.</p><p>Fuck.</p>
<hr/><p>It takes the rest of the day, but By finally gets an answer. She hears from a black-market merchant by the name of Yuri that she can find the two at the old palace.</p><p>She doesn’t know where that is, either.</p><p>Shit.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Claude, trying to get more money from Yuri: I am very small, and have no money, so you can imagine the kind of stress that I am under</p><p>Also, there is a reason why I made Derdriu in the place of Russia instead of, say, Faerghus. For one, it’s where all of the Golden Deer are at, obviously. </p><p>Two is based on the map of Fódlan. If you look at the map, Derdriu is rather far north on it, not as far north as, say, Fhirdiad, but it is pretty far north. Seeing as how Brigid, based on the description of the country, seems to be far enough south to have a tropical-island sort of feel, and is located pretty far from Derdriu. Assuming Brigid, southern Adrestia and Enbarr also are near the world’s equator, and how cold it seems to get as far south as Fhirdiad, I’d place Derdriu (if compared to a map of the US) in the upper Midwest/New England area. Not cold as the artic, but cold enough. If you couple that with the fact Derdriu is right east of the sea, I would say the city is susceptible to colder weather from the sea since water doesn’t hear up as much as land - this is what happens with New York and other cities right near large bodies of water.</p><p>Also, I feel like going from Fhirdiad to Derdriu just isn’t that long of a journey compared to Derdriu to Enbarr, and it also allows us to go through the focal point of FE3H: Garreg Mach.</p><p>In other news: Blue’s Clues said LGBTQ+ rights we stan</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. dancing with ghosts</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Claude and Lorenz look for right actress to play their Byleth. By, meanwhile, stumbles into the old palace - and a memory she isn’t sure is hers.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey! Hope you're having a great day/night! Make sure to take care of yourself!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Claude</p><p>They were getting nowhere.</p><p>Claude had spent the past two days auditioning people to find the role of their Byleth, to no luck. Not one of them was a match to missing princess, by either hair color, face, eye color, and personality.</p><p>“-and I look like a princess, and I dance like a feather,” said a rather attractive young woman with orange hair and brown eyes sings, her voice clearly made for the stage. She certainly seemed like royalty, but Claude knows that she just wouldn't pass for Byleth. But it wasn't like he could narrow down the parameters to looking for an actress with a hair and eye color that matched the late Eisner, not without drawing the Agarthans on their tail. All he could do was hope he got lucky.</p><p>And lucky they weren't.</p><p>“Alright, thank you, miss,” Claude said when the young woman had finished. “You may go now.”</p><p>The woman gave them a single nod of the head, and swiftly exited the theatre. Claude waved, and following the woman with long, curly, black hair in a long black dress with a purple shawl, staggering across the stage. She looked young, but Claude had the sense she was way older than she seemed.</p><p>“Father, it’s… it’s me, By… Byleth!” The woman slurred, grinning. “I’ve come all the way… all the way to you from Derdriu!”</p><p>“Good goddess, is she drunk?” Lorenz asked, putting a hand over his chest. Claude groans, hitting his head against the rickety desk he’s been stuck at for the past two days.</p><p>“Oh, brother…” He shakes his head, putting it in his hands. “Let’s just call it a night. We’ve been at it for the past two days.”</p><p>“But our train leaves tomorrow evening,” Lorenz said, looking at him. “At this rate, we’ll have to leave our Byleth behind. You can go now, Miss!” This he calls to the woman, who is stumbling across the stage singing some sort of song.</p><p>As the woman stumbled off the stage, Claude stands up, stretching, his stomach demanding food. The chair creaks and groans from the loss of weight, and pins and needles shoot through his legs from suddenly getting up after so many hours spent sitting down. Quickly, they gather up their meager items and exit the old theater.</p><p>“Well, that’s it. Two days, two hundred coins, and we’re no closer to finding our Byleth than we were before,” Lorenz bemoans as they exit into the chilly evening air. “Our last chance, carried away by the wind like it carries away blossoming rose petals.”</p><p><em> What is it with him and roses? </em> Claude thinks, rolling his eyes as he shoves his hat onto his head. He even adopted his fake last name as Lorenz Rose. </p><p>“We’ll find her, Lorenz, somewhere,” Claude assures, even if he himself isn’t feeling very assured right now. “She’s here, somewhere, right under our noses. And we have a smoking gun.”</p><p>He fishes around in his satchel for the locked jewelry box he’s been carrying around since he escaped the slaughter at the palace. He’s taken great care of it since then, even if he can’t get the damn thing open, and it’s the one thing he refuses to pawn, no matter how real it may be or how much money it may fetch them.</p><p>It was, after all, Byleth’s, and that stupid, silly little childhood crush of his from over a decade ago had never quite faded, even after the news of her death.</p><p>“Don’t forget, my friend, one look at this jewelry box, and Captain Jeralt will think we’ve brought with us the real Byleth, alive and safe. By the time he catches on, we’ll have our five hundred thousand split, you can do whatever it is you want to do and I’ll be on a ship out of Enbarr.”</p><p>“I still want to know how you got that,” Lorenz said with that side-eyes, suspicious look of his. “You didn’t break into the palace and steal it, did you?”</p><p>“I was eleven when the slaughter happened, Lorenz. Even I wasn’t as good back then as I am now,” Claude says, returning the glare as he shoved the jewelry box into his satchel. “I told you, I worked at the palace when it was invaded, and found it afterwards. There was no stealing involved.”</p><p>It was a little bit of a lie, sure, but no need to tell Lorenz that. It was a white lie, and a white lie that kept him safe. Besides, he had been at the palace when the slaughter happened - he was just a little more important than a servant.</p><p>“And I find it interesting that you’ve pawned off most other things of worth in the palace, but kept that, despite the fact that jewelry box could contain a fortune worth its weight in, well, jewelry. But despite that, you seem rather attached to it.”</p><p>“And the reason why is none of your business,” Claude grumbles, patting his satchel to make sure the jewelry box is there. Lorenz wouldn’t understand. No one would understand, not like he did.</p><p>Lorenz huffed, but the conversation was dropped.</p>
<hr/><p>By</p>
<hr/><p>It’s night when By finally, <em> finally </em>locates the palace.</p><p>It’s old, and looks like it hadn’t been touched since it burned down, aside from the boarded up front doors. Part of the palace was blackened and crumbling from the fire, looking ready to fall apart and turn to dust at the slightest breeze of wind or faintest touch. Still, with the glistening white of the snow layered on the palace and the grounds, there’s a certain, elegant charm to the place. And this close to the ocean, she can taste the salt in the air, and even smell the residual smell of dead fish caught in the water and bought and sold at the port city.</p><p>Despite that, By’s stomach still turned, and it almost felt like she was on one of those trading ships.</p><p>In an orphanage, especially an orphanage in decimated countries, games were few and entertainment, fewer. To keep each other entertained, all the kids would tell stories of anything they could think about, and a half-burned palace that was witness to a mass slaughter over a decade ago was a prime place to draw all manner of stories and even a few rumors from. The tales ranged from levels of mildly unsettling but ultimately forgettable by lights-out to the truly scary ones that haunted dreams and people.</p><p>Stories of anyone going in turning to ash when they wandered too close to the burned areas and scattered to the wind. Stories of the ghosts of the people slaughtered that night cursing any naïve souls that come in to be cursed to dance to the waltz that had played in the ballroom just before, forever, never to leave the palace again. Stories of Arundel - Thales, he became known as later, since that was his true name - returning from the dead or Monica appearing like a ghost to slaughter any trespassers on the account that they were an Eisner they failed to kill.</p><p>By knew they were just stories, just rumors, especially if two people apparently lived there, and fear had never been a key emotion that she felt, but she still wanted to case the area a little bit, make sure it was actually safe to enter.</p><p>Or, that was her plan, at least until Sothis, the little gremlin, wriggled her way under a board into the abandoned palace.</p><p>“Sothis!” By chided the tiny kitten, even though she knew the little gremlin wouldn’t listen to her. She couldn’t be trained like a dog could, and Sothis had seemed to be determined to make her life difficult since she took the poor, freezing kitten in from the cold.</p><p>That ungrateful little gremlin.</p><p>“Sothis!” By hissed again, peering through the openings between boards to try and find the gremlin in question. In doing so, she pulls on one of them just a little too hard-</p><p>-and sends her stumbling backward when it comes loose.</p><p>Stumbling backwards, By scrambles for purchase, involuntarily crying out in surprise as the board crashes to the ground. Finding no purchase, she’s sent flailing backward onto her ass, and the snow immediately seeps through her pants.</p><p>By curses as she sits up, rubbing the spot where she hit it on the ground and was now throbbing in protest. A large chunk of boards had fallen to the ground, leaving enough space for her to enter.</p><p>Well. That was convenient.</p><p>She poked her head through the door, peering left and right, expecting Agarthans or guards or someone to jump out and point her out. But the inside of the palace is as empty as the outside, so she slowly entered the building, steps slow and measured.</p><p>Along with the rumors, By had heard stories of the grandness and beauty the palace held. The red carpets probably made with some very expensive dye were moth-eaten and bunched up, the color long faded into a russet brown color. The air was heavy with dust, and the lights didn’t seem to work, for the halls were dark with the twilight colors and hue. Cobwebs hung in every available corner, and even with the walls, the cold still hung in the air like a heavy blanket, seeping into the dark corners of the palace.</p><p>It was sad, really. Not only had a family died, but so had something so grand and beautiful. Even the paintings were gone, leaving patches of dark grey paint against wallpapered walls.</p><p>By the luck of some higher being, By had found Sothis just down the hall, sitting on the ground and licking her paw.</p><p>“You little gremlin,” By muttered, walking over and sweeping the cat up into her arms. Cats couldn’t smile, but By was convinced Sothis was.</p><p>For a second, By was tempted to call out and see if anyone was home, before deciding against it. Better to not risk giving herself away to any unsavory figures that might be lurking around. She’d rather find Claude and Lorenz before they find her.</p><p>“So where to go?” She asked Sothis, starting to walk down the hall, but the palace was big. It would take ages to search every place in the building.</p><p>Halfway down the hall, there’s a door hanging off its hinges, the other one on the floor. By peers around it to look inside. It appears to be a dining room of sorts, partially destroyed, one half of the table smashed, and cobwebs covering the candles and dishes still set out on it, captured in the past.</p><p>Sothis wriggles out of her arms and jumps down to the ground, before slinking under the table. By watches her go, before running her fingers over the tablecloth, stopping next to a plate. It comes away painted with dust.</p><p>Wiping her fingers on her dress, By leans over and blows the layer of dust off of the plate, before picking it up. She studies the fine craftsmanship of it - <em>how much money would this get her?</em> - and her reflection.</p><p>In the next moment, her reflection disappears.</p><p>Except… it doesn’t.</p><p>It looks the same, sure, but it looks older, more wise, the skin a shade or two paler than hers, and wearing makeup, light pink lipstick and blush to match. Blue-green bangs hang down, neatly swept to the side. She’s being held up and spun around in a circle, based on the way the room spins in her peripheral vision, and soft music plays in the background, distant, but it's a familiar tune she’s been humming since she was first found. It’s one of the few things she does remember, however small and insignificant.</p><p><em> “Ah, you’re getting so big, my star!” </em> The woman’s voice echoes in her ear, sounding far away, a distant memory.</p><p>Is that memory hers?</p><p>By can’t tell. It feels like a memory from a long-forgotten dream, faded away over time, and familiar in a way she can’t place, like she’s been here before. But this is the first time she’s been in such a place, so why does it feel like… it’s missing?</p><p>In the next the voice fades, and the image is gone. But it felt… it felt so real, and she startles, setting the plate back on the table and stepping backward. Sothis slips out from under the tablecloth, rubbing herself against her feet, nearly causing By to trip as she walks away.</p><p>Pushed against a wall, next to a doorway, is some sort of vanity with a cracked mirror. On it sits a vase, silver, painted with what looks to be… dancing deer? The vase was painted in a light purple, gone grey with dust, and the dancing deer make her head hurt. Still, it’s clear that this vase was once very pretty, but the years have taken their toll, and it lost any luster it once had ages ago.</p><p>She looks up at the mirror, reaching a hand up to touch the glass-</p><p>-once more, the image flickers.</p><p>Her hair, not too long and hanging down, is suddenly pulled up into a fancy braid that wrapped around the back of her hair, and she could almost feel it pulling at her scalp. The simple coat and tunic she was wearing, replaced by a dark blue dress, so dark it was almost black. Two emerald earrings dangle off her earlobes, sparkling in golden light.</p><p><em> “You’re so pretty, you know that?” </em> A high-pitched, feminine voice echoes in her mind, and there’s the clap! Of two hands clapping together. <em> “I’m a little jealous of you - but it does make you a good model for me and Mercie to try out all these hairstyles and dresses on you! We never get to try them at home - Ophelia and the other servants do it for us.” </em></p><p><em> “We’re going to make you the best-looking person at this ball tonight, and everyone will want to dance with you! Right, Annie?” </em>Another voice, a bit softer, almost motherly, adds on.</p><p>By shivers.</p><p>Blinks.</p><p>Just like with the plate, the image and the voices are gone, leaving nothing but the memory of it, settling over her like snow, cold to the touch, and leaves her wanting more. Something on the tip of her tongue that she couldn’t reach, but it was there, forever distant.</p><p>A chill settles over her spine, and she shakes her head, stepping back. This is no time to go around thinking, she needs to find Claude and Lorenz.</p><p>Still, By can’t help but hum that tune as she walks into the next room - the ballroom, she can tell from just a glance. It’s humongous, with large windows low to the ground, and larger portraits hanging above them, wall to wall. Chandeliers hang above, except for a hole where one should be. At the very far back of the room, more portraits hang on the wall, up another staircase very similar to the one she’s on.</p><p>And it all feels so- so familiar.</p><p>It’s there, solid and real, someone wrapping warm arms around her-</p><p>-but it’s so distant at the same time. It’s right there, at the edge of the foggy mind that is her memory, her past, ready for her to remember-</p><p>
  <em> -“hear this song and remember-“ </em>
</p><p>-men and women in fancy outfits painted with all the colors of the rainbow, twirling and spinning and dancing, the paintings come to life as they dance and smile and laugh, flitting across the dusty russet carpet now a brilliant scarlet red. They gleam with jewels, and the air is filled with the smell of fancy- perfumes and soaps of flowers and fruits and gleaming royalty-</p><p>-a tall man with short purple hair and a rose in his lapel is bowing to a woman in a black-and-pink dress the same shade as the elegant pigtails she has-</p><p>-by the buffet tables, a young girl with raven black hair shoves a slice of cake to a boy with dark hair pulled back into a ponytail, and he begrudgingly accepts the sweet with a nudge from a young man who looks just a few years older than him, with the same hair color also pulled up into a ponytail. Another young boy with red hair seems to chuckle, pointing at the ponytail kid, and a slightly older-looking girl with blonde hair in a braid whacks him on the back of the head.</p><p>There’s a young girl, about eight or nine, also with blue hair that’s lighter than hers but also pulled up into a braid, and a boy with short blonde hair wearing a blue shawl walks up to her, offering her to dance, and she can almost hear them speaking, can almost remember what they’re saying.</p><p>Nearby, a short boy with choppy blue hair is trying to dance with another boy with medium-length green hair pulled up into a ponytail, but the second boy just keeps trying to head over to the buffet.</p><p>Next to her, there’s a boy with orange hair holding the hair of a girl with long purple hair pulled up into an elegant updo and in a very fancy dress decked out with jewels, hesitating at the top of the steps.</p><p>And then By can feel the ghost of an arm on her hand, and some invisible force pulls her off the steps onto the ballroom, all previous signs of destitution gone, replaced by shimmering gold and the figures dancing. A young girl with mint green hair and soft hands is the one pulling her onto the dancefloor, towards a stern-looking man with dark green hair and she’s pulling someone else who almost looks exactly like her, but a few inches taller and hair short enough that it doesn’t need to be pulled up. She looks down, and she’s in the same dress as before, with a gold ribbon wrapped around the waist.</p><p><em> “Come dance with us, By…” </em> the girl says, her voice fading out of her ears, slipping from her memory-</p><p><em> -no </em> , she can’t let this fade, she’s <em>so close </em>to remembering, she wants to remember. There’s a warmth inside her chest she hasn’t felt in ages, filling up that tiny, empty space inside By’s chest that’s been there ever since she woke up.</p><p>But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t remember any faces, even as she’s being ushered towards a woman in a snow-white dress, with fancy silk strings embedded with glittering diamonds. The woman pulls her into a dance, swaying as the background of the ball fades out from her mind. It’s just the two of them, dancing alone to a song only By knows, but she can picture-</p><p>-she can picture a face. Very much like her own, from the cheekbones to the shape of the eyes. But the color is different, the eyes and hair color a shade of blue-green, and a shawl wrapped around her neck like a scarf - it’s the same person she saw in her reflection on the mirror before, By realizes. And she’s smiling, smiling as she leads By in a dance she doesn’t know the steps do, the background noise and all the people faded away.</p><p>But then she lets go, and backs up. By, out of respect, curtsies the way she’s seen other people do, and the woman extends a hand-</p><p>-and there’s a weight on her shoulders.</p><p>It sends her off-balance, and she stumbles to the side, nearly crashing to the floor.</p><p>“Sothis.”</p><p>The cat in question mews into her ear, her claws digging through the fabric of her coat into her shoulder, and she headbutts By in the cheek. By sighs, and reaches a hand up to scratch her head.</p><p>When she looked about the ballroom, the figures had disappeared, and so had the ethereal glow of the image - the memory? The nighttime moonlight creeps through the windows, casting a ghostly light over the abandoned ballroom, and that warmth that was in her chest like a candle, fades away in the quiet, lonesome howl of the wind outside.</p><p>No, no, <em> no</em>.</p><p>No, she was so close to- she was so close to <em>remembering</em>. She <em>was </em>remembering! Remembering people and places and even <em>names </em> - <em> Annie </em>and <em> Mercie </em>sounded so familiar, but not familiar <em>enough</em>.</p><p>Nicknames?</p><p>They sounded, they <em>felt</em>, like nicknames. The boy that was running with her, that looked like her, was… could that be a brother? Did she have a brother at some point?</p><p>And the woman she danced with, the woman that looked so much like her- her mother. That had to be her mother, who else could it be? Was she the one who has given her the necklace? Was she the person waiting for her in Enbarr?</p><p>But she had to have had a father too, where was he at? Was he in Enbarr too, were they both in Enbarr? Were they the ones waiting for her return?</p><p>
  <em> Why were they in a bal- </em>
</p><p>“Hey! What are you doing here?!”</p><p>A voice suddenly cuts through the silence of the ballroom and the roaring of By’s memory. Sothis lets out a startled noise and leaps off her shoulders, and By whips around to see a young man with dark hair, about her age, on the veranda, followed almost immediately by a taller man with purple hair, cut short on one side of his head, but a long strand of it reaches down in front of his shoulders on the other side.</p><p>Many years of living in this country spurred her mind to jump to the first - and worst possible - conclusions.</p><p>Agarthans. They were there to kill her.</p><p>Let it never be said she didn’t have survival instincts, because By scrambled to her feet <em> (when had she sunk to the ground?) </em> grabbed Sothis, and <em>bolted</em>.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. a perfect fake</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>When Claude stumbles upon By in the palace, he sees a golden opportunity - she’s almost a perfect match to the missing princess.</p><p>And what’s more, she wants to go to Enbarr as well.</p><p>So, Claude does what is natural, and strikes up a deal.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey! Hope that you're having a good day!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Claude</p><p>Claude was in the middle of some half-stale bread and water when he heard a crash.</p><p>Instantly, he jolted out of his seat, setting the glass on the table as he looked around, already on alert.</p><p>“Did you hear that?” He asked Lorenz, head snapping to look at the man.</p><p>“Hear what?” Lorenz asked, looking up from his own meal. Claude frowner, looking around the room.</p><p>“I thought I heard a crash,” Claude said.</p><p>Lorenz was silent for a moment, looking from side to side, before looking back at Claude. “No, I still don’t hear anything,” he said.</p><p>Claude frowned, pushing his chair in and peering out the door, looking left and right down the hallway, scanning the area for any soldiers marching around the place. It wouldn’t be the first time the Agarthans had come down to sweep the palace before and make sure there were no stragglers. </p><p>Normally, Claude would just pack up their stuff and leave, vacate the place for a few days until the Agarthan presence had moved on. But Claude had heard a blizzard might be coming tonight, so would it be wise to go out there without any proof that it’s the Agarthans? Because they’ve also gotten other people like them, desperate people looking for a place to stay for a time.</p><p>Claude would rather scout it out and find them first before they find him; better safe than sorry.</p><p>“I’m going to go check it out, just to be safe,” Claude said, turning back to Lorenz. “Be prepared to grab our stuff and run.” As large as the palace was, and as many soldiers it would take to search every room, there was still always the possibility they could find them.</p><p>“Fine, I’ll come with,” Lorenz said, setting down his own plate of food, a frown etched onto his face.</p><p>The hallways of the palace twisted and turned like a maze, showing the age of the abandoned place. Claude had a good decade and then some to get used to the twists and turns of it, and the dark hallways of the servant’s corridors he used to walk while he was here. He knew them like the back of his hand, like he knew he was the son of Tiana von Reigan, like he knew he was going to get out of Derdriu if it killed him.</p><p>He had spent a fair amount of his later childhood years before the slaughter in the servants’ hallways, doing his best to remain hidden and unseen from the nobility that lived there. His uncle may have been the sovereign duke, and he was technically nobility, but his mom had fallen in love with his dad, an Almyran. That was basically taboo here. </p><p>They had run off to Almyra for a few years, but when his uncle had gotten sick, they came back at his grandfather’s behest, hoping he had a Crest of Reigan, in case his uncle took a turn for the worse and they needed a new heir, introducing Claude to the narrow-minded world of Leicester nobility and the Crest system. Many of the other nobles had hated him on principle, leaving Claude to learn how to use the servants’ corridors to remain unseen and hidden, only sharpening his stealth skills.</p><p>Lorenz, on the other hand, was not stealthy.</p><p>“Will you keep it down?” Claude hissed to the man as he shut the door they had just exited from into the main hallway just a little too loudly - it wasn’t a slam, but even the quietest sounds could travel through hallways like these, and there may be other people lurking about. Claude doesn’t want to alert whoever <em>had </em>broken in that they know they’re there.</p><p>“Sorry,” Lorenz hissed, sounding apologetic, but his face was anything but, eyes sharpened into that annoying little glare of his. Seriously, how had Claude gotten stuck with <em>him </em>of all people?</p><p>Shaking his head, Claude slunk down the hallway, avoiding the areas he knows that creaked and sticking close to walls, occasionally glancing over his shoulder to make sure that no one was behind them. Without the glow of the torchlights, and only the light of the moon shining through the windows for guidance, the empty, dust-covered hallways had an eerie aura to it that hung over them like a morning fog rolling in from the sea.</p><p>They checked each room, one by one, as they walked, making sure there were no stragglers - or worse, Agarthans - in them. Finally, they came to one of the entrances, and Claude noticed with a jolt that there was a small hole in part of the boarding.</p><p>Claude had lived in this building post-slaughter for eight years, and that door has been boarded up for all of it. But now there was a hole, a hole big enough for a small adult to slip through.</p><p>“Someone’s definitely been here,” Claude whispered to Lorenz, pointing at the hole. Lorenz’s eyes widened in surprise, before narrowing.</p><p>“Do you think it’s the Agarthans?”</p><p>Claude frowned at the door, tapping his foot on the ground. The hole, admittedly, wasn’t that big - usually, the Agarthans would just break down the whole thing and put it back up when they left, or even teleport in with magic. That had happened once, a year ago, and it had almost gotten them caught - thank the stars for the fact only Claude and Lorenz really knew where the doors to the servants’ hallways were.</p><p>He shook his head. “No. Not with a hole like this. It might just be another straggler, like us.”</p><p>“But you still want to check it out.”</p><p>“Of course. One can never be too careful, my rose-loving friend.”</p><p>Meaning kept on, until they had gotten to the ballroom. Usually, Claude would give it no more than a passing walk inside - most people wouldn’t leave themselves in such an open, exposed place like that, and the Agarthans knew that. So, passing glance it was-</p><p>-<em> Wait</em>.</p><p>Did… did he just see someone in the ballroom?</p><p>He gave it a second glance.</p><p>Sure enough, there was a person - a woman - sitting in the middle of the ballroom… a cat on her shoulders?</p><p>That time, Claude didn’t give any second thoughts before he ran out onto the veranda of the staircase, clearing his throat and shouting out, “Hey! What are you doing in here?!”</p><p>The woman gasped. The cat yowled, and jumped off her shoulders. The woman whipped around. There was a brief second eye contact as Lorenz joined him, before the woman was getting to feet, grabbing the cat, and running.</p><p>Claude ran, too.</p><p>“Hey! Hey, wait- wait, stop, stop stop, wait! Hold on!”</p><p>Bolting down the stairs, Claude nearly broke his ankle trying to jump down the last three, before he skidded and turned to go chase after the woman, running towards the other staircase at the other side of the room. Lorenz, if his footsteps were any indication, was right behind him, but Claude had always been the faster of the two, tearing across the ballroom to the mysterious woman - fuck, she was <em>fast </em>-</p><p>“Hey, stop!” Claude tried again as she scrambles up the stairs, shouting louder this time despite the burn it has on his lungs. This time, it actually works, and the woman stops, turning, as Claude reaches the bottom of the stairs. Except, the cat’s not in her arms-</p><p>-and it’s flying towards his face, snarling.</p><p>Claude yelps and flinches as the cat flies towards him like a bullet, swiping at him, and he stumbles backward into Lorenz with an <em>oomph</em>. It sends both of them off-kilter and toppling to the polished granite ground.</p><p>“Sothis!” The woman calls out as the cat lands on Claude’s chest, and the cat manages to claw a score across his cheek before he manages to shove it off him. “Oh my goddess, are you two okay?” She asks.</p><p>“Just peachy,” Claude grumbles as he sits up, watching the cat bound towards the woman again and leaping up back to her shoulders. It barely startles the woman, who’s looking down at him with a-</p><p>-with a…</p><p>...a striking resemblance to a certain someone in one of the paintings behind her.</p><p>“How did you get in here?” Lorenz is asking, already back on his feet, but the question flies through one of Claude’s ears and out the other. He’s too busy staring at the woman, gaze flickering from her to a certain someone in one of the paintings, back to her.</p><p>There are four paintings on the wall behind Byleth, one for each of the top-most royals in all four countries of Fodlan - the latest painting of the Blaiddyd, Hresvelg, Reigan, and the Church of Serios’ Archbishop's lines. From what he remembered, all of the other important palaces in the other areas of Fodlan had this. Claude’s eyes, in particular, were drawn to the one of the Church of Serios.</p><p>Blue eyes. Blue hair. Sharp cheekbones, and slightly pointed ears. It was like the picture, the portrait, had come to life and aged by twelve years. If Claude were more of a believer, he’d say this was some sort of miracle.</p><p>“Lorenz,” Claude whispered, getting to his feet and nudging his friend in the chest. Lorenz scowls at him.</p><p>“What?” He asks, gaze flicking from him to the woman, who’s still standing at the top of the stairs, the cat balanced on her shoulders and hissing at them like some vengeful god.</p><p>“Do you see what I see?” He asks, winking in the direction of the painting. A beat of silence, and a frown appeared on Lorenz’s face.</p><p>“No.”</p><p>Claude rolled his eyes - does he really have to explain everything to him? He’s <em>convinced </em>the only way nobles can actually learn stuff is through a book or several life-or-death experiences.</p><p>“Doesn’t that lovely young lady right there look like our missing Eisner?” Claude says to Lorenz, making his voice as quiet as possible so the woman doesn’t hear what they’re saying. The woman is looking behind her now, at the painting, but the cat is still looking at them with green eyes.</p><p>He sticks out his tongue.</p><p>“Oh,” Lorenz vocalizes, low and quiet, and Claude can feel himself start to smile. “Why, yes, she does. The resemblance is… striking.”</p><p>“Are you two Claude Oswald and Lorenz Rose?” The woman asks, her gaze now directed at them.</p><p>“Depends on who’s asking,” Claude says, tilting his head as he walked up the steps to her, trying to get a better look at her. She’s dressed in the simple sort of outfit everyone wears these days - a (presumably) long-sleeved shirt, with a coat that reaches her mid-thighs, and high boots. A scarf wrapped around her neck, a large gold pendant of sorts that seems familiar hanging on her waist by a small strand of leather string, and a beanie hat on her head. Hanging down a few inches past the scarf was a silver, flower-shaped necklace.</p><p>“I’m By, and I need a visa. Some friends of mine said that you might be able to get them for me.”</p><p>“By… That’s an interesting name. A nickname, perhaps?” Lorenz asked. A furrow appeared between the woman’s brows.</p><p>“No, I don’t think so,” she said, shaking her head as the cat - Sothis - leaped down from her shoulders. Claude backed up in case it went to attack her, but By reached down and picked up the cat before she could get too close to them.</p><p>“You don’t think so?” He asked, once he was sure the cat wouldn’t try to claw at his face again - which, <em> ow</em>, now he was feeling the lines where the cat raked her claws through his cheek. Wincing, Claude brought a hand up to his cheek, and when it came away, there was a small patch of red on his fingers. “What does that mean?”</p><p>Scowling, he glared at the cat, who just glared right back.</p><p>“I don’t remember my name. My full name. Or my last name, for that matter,” By said matter-of-factly, turning to keep face with Claude as he walked around her, trying to discern her likeness to the missing princess. “Why are you circling me? Were you a vulture in another life or something?”</p><p>The cat hissed. Claude held up his hands and took a few steps back to give her some space. “You don’t know your own name?” He asked, tilting his head.</p><p>By shook her head again, looking down at the cat. “No. I don’t remember anything from over twelve years ago, except this name.”</p><p>“So why do you need travel papers, exactly?” Lorenz asked. By dropped the cat in her arms, and held up the necklace she was wearing.</p><p>“This necklace says <em> Together in Enbarr. </em> I’ve been wearing it since I was found. That means whoever gave me this necklace is in Enbarr, and I need to get there to find them,” By said. “Can you get me the travel papers, or do I have to go to someone else?”</p><p>Claude exchanged a glance with Lorenz, who had a brow raised, and he could feel the gears turning in his head. Doesn’t remember anything from over twelve years ago, from before the slaughter, has a desire to go to Enbarr, and bears a striking resemblance to the missing Eisner…</p><p>It was almost too good to be true.</p><p>Claude headed back down the steps to Lorenz, nudging him as he spoke. “You know, we’re actually going to Enbarr, too, but we only have three tickets. Two for us, and the third ticket is for Byleth Eisner.”</p><p>“The missing successor to the Church? Why her?” By asked as Lorenz handed Claude the three tickets in question. Claude turned, holding them like one holds cards in their hands.</p><p>“Why, we’re going to reunite her with her father,” he explains, winking as he walked back up the steps to By. “But it is quite the coincidence that you resemble her, you know. Sitri’s eyes-”</p><p>“-her hair and eye color,” Lorenz added on, following Claude as he threw an arm over By’s shoulder.</p><p>“Jeralt’s mannerisms.”</p><p>By frowned, pushing Claude’s arm off her shoulders.</p><p>“Ah, you even have the grandmother’s hands!” Lorenz said, taking By’s hand and pressing a kiss to it.</p><p>“What are you saying?” By asked, pulling her hand away and looking between the two of them with narrowed eyes.</p><p>“Well, it’s quite simple. You’re the same as the missing successor would be now, you look very similar to Sitri, and can’t remember anything from over twelve years ago - that was when the, um, the Agarthans took over,” Claude explained, walking up the steps and gesturing for By to follow her. She rolled her eyes, but complied. “And Byleth Eisner’s only family is in Enbarr, which is where <em> you </em>need to go.”</p><p>A scoff. “Are you trying to tell me I look like the missing Eisner?” By asked, the skepticism clear in her voice as Lorenz followed them up, nearly tripping over the cat that was now darting between the three of them.</p><p>“Well, we’ve seen thousands of people from all across the country, and you’re the closest thing we’ve seen to Byleth Eisner, that’s all,” Claude said to her, before gesturing at the painting he so cleverly led her to now behind her. “Look at the portrait.”</p><p>She didn’t, to Claude’s dismay.</p><p>“You’re crazy,” She said, shaking her head and poking both him and Lorenz in the chest. “Forget it, I’ll go find someone else. Come on, Sothis.” With that, she started to walk away, but Claude quickly followed her, sliding in front of her to keep her from leaving.</p><p>“Don’t be so quick to dismiss the idea, By,” Claude said. By glared at him, and it was so cold he almost froze under it, but he quickly shook his head and regained his composure. “You don’t know what happened to you, what your memories are.”</p><p>“And no one knows what happened to Byleth Eisner,” Lorenz added on, holding up a finger. “After all, her body was never found. You’re looking for your family in Enbarr-”</p><p>“-Which is where Jeralt Eisner escaped too,” Claude finished, shrugging. “You ever think of the possibility?”</p><p>“That, what, I’m royalty? No offense, but I don’t think that I am, especially when one sleeps on a creaky mattress five seconds from breaking.” By said, but she wasn’t trying to move again, and her hands went up to grasp her necklace, so Claude pressed on.</p><p>Metaphorically, though. The cat, now at Claude’s feet, snarled at him, and Claude took a few steps back, sighing.</p><p>Alright, time to try a different tactic.</p><p>“I really wish we could help, but our third ticket is for the missing Eisner,” He said, grabbing Lorenz and pulling him away from the young woman, before shooting her a two-fingered wave. “Good luck with getting that travel visa!”</p><p>As Claude led Lorenz down the stairs, the other man hissed into his ear. “What are you doing? Why didn’t you tell her about our plan?”</p><p>“Because, all she wants to do is get to Enbarr, so why give away a third of the reward money for that?” Claude said, fixing Lorenz with a pointed look as they reach the second set of stairs.</p><p>“We’re walking away too soon, Claude,” Lorenz grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. Claude grinned, jerking a thumb behind them.</p><p>“No, we’re not. Just wait,” he said, winking at the man. “It’s all under control, don’t be a rose in the mud. Just… walk slower, okay?”</p><p>Lorenz was fixing him with that look again, but complied, the two of them descending the steps at a slower pace. Claude waits a few beats before holding up his fingers. “One… two… three.”</p><p>“Wait!”</p><p>By’s voice cuts through the din of the silence in the room. Claude grins as Lorenz’s eyes widen comically, winking, before he spins around to face By, hurrying down the steps to them.</p><p>“That is uncanny,” Lorenz muttered in his ear. Claude shrugged.</p><p>“Yes?” He asked, feigning innocence and putting on his best puppy-dog eyes, placing a heart over his chest.</p><p>“Do you two really believe that I could be this missing Eisner?” By asked them, slowing to a stop as she came to the bottom of the stairs, one eyebrow raised. Sothis, meanwhile, leaps up from the top of the steps and lands on By’s shoulders again.</p><p>To be honest, Claude could say yes. She looked so much like the Byleth Eisner that his stupid heart had had a stupid crush on, minus the baby fat and adding on twelve years, that it hurt. Really, she could be a third twin to the two Eisner children.</p><p>So, Claude nods. “I do.”</p><p>The tiniest frown appears on By’s face, so tiny he almost can’t see it. “And if I’m not her, the Captain will certainly know right away, right?” Claude nods. “It would all just be an honest mistake.”</p><p>“That is very plausible,” Lorenz says with a nod. “But if you are the princess, then that means you would have your family back, hmm?”</p><p>“And if you aren’t, well, either way, you still get to Enbarr,” Claude says, taking a few steps towards her. “Everybody wins.”</p><p>“Fine, I’ll come with you,” By says, sticking her hand out in a handshake. Claude grins, and takes it-</p><p>-<em> wow</em>, her hands are <em>soft </em>-</p><p>-and <em>strong. “ </em>Ow!”</p><p>He pulled his hand away from By, flexing it - <em> wowzers</em>, that was some grip - before smiling and spreading his arms out, spinning. “May I present her Lady Byleth Eisner of the Church of Serios!”</p><p>It echoes throughout the room, bouncing off the ornate, abandoned walls as By smiles and speaks to the cat. “Sothis, we’re going to Enbarr.”</p><p>Claude stopped in his tracks, pointing at her. “We’re not taking the cat.”</p><p>“What do you mean, we’re not taking her?” By asked, scooping the cat up into her arms and cradling her like one would a baby. “Sothis is coming with us.”</p><p>“She’s staying.”</p><p>“No, she’s not, Sothis is coming with us. You’ll get used to her.”</p><p>“I’m allergic to cats.”</p><p>“Boo-hoo,” By deadpans.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Claude, seeing By compared to the picture of Byleth: I’ve connected the two dots<br/>By: You didn’t connect shit<br/>Claude: I’ve connected them</p><p>And thus begins Claude’s rivalry with Sothis the Gremlin Cat</p><p>
  <a href="https://ccwritesstuff.tumblr.com/">I Have a Tumblr!</a>
</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. unlikely allies</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The journey begins, Claude and By start off on the wrong foot, and Sothis sews discord.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>By</p><p>It felt too good to be true.</p><p>Her, being royalty?</p><p>Over the years, By had thought about what it might be like to reunite with her family, what they would say, how they would act, what would happen to her. But not one of them had consisted of her being Byleth Eisner, the missing successor to the Church of Serios, who had supposedly died in the slaughter over a decade ago, and that her father was Captain Jeralt of the Knights of Serios. Instead, it felt like something from a storybook, something that was nice to think about but would ultimately never happen.</p><p>After all, the dead didn’t just pop back up from the dead. Even despite the rumors that had been flying about in recent months, even despite the fact her body was never found, Byleth Eisner was dead. She’s been dead for over a decade, and she’d be helping those two into tricking a man into thinking that his daughter was alive.</p><p>By had lied before, any good kid worth their salt had. But this was more than just a simple lie - it was a deception. It made her hesitate.</p><p>Except, it wasn’t, too. That was what made her <em> stop </em> hesitating. After all, she knew nothing about herself, but the Captain did know about his daughter. He would know and she could just claim that she didn’t because she had no memories-</p><p>
  <em> -figures in beautiful, colored outfits gleaming with jewels dancing and twirling in a ballroom- </em>
</p><p>-she didn’t remember anything about herself or her childhood. By couldn’t be arrested for a simple mistake, right?</p><p>Besides, she was desperate to get to Enbarr, to find her family. This would get her there. This might be her only chance to go there. And if she really was the missing successor <em> (which she wasn’t, of course), </em> well, her father would be a king. She could have all the warm food and sturdy bed and comfy, cozy clothing that she wanted. She could have her family.</p><p>She had spent the night at the palace, the orphanage too far away to walk too, and an upcoming blizzard meant it was too dangerous for her to go out and walk to the city. It… was rather nice, all things considered. Freezing cold, sure, but at least it gave them a roof over her head, and the mattresses, as dusty as they were, were nice.</p><p>At least, it was, until a clapping sound woke her up at the asscrack of dawn.</p><p>“Okay, okay up and at ‘em, slugabeds!” Claude said in a voice way too loud for it being this early in the morning. “Come on, the train leaves in two hours and it’s an hour walk to the train station!”</p><p>“Shut the fuck up, Claude,” By groaned at him, rolling over in her bed. Let it be known that she was not a morning person. “Too early for this shit.”</p><p>“Well, our train leaves in two hours, and it takes an hour and then some to walk to the station,” Claude replies. “So unless you want to miss your one shot at going to Enbarr, I suggest getting out of bed and getting packed.”</p><p>With that, the warmth of the bed and the covers she was under was suddenly replaced by cold, cold air. By startled and yelped, instinctively grabbing the pillow and lashing out with it - thirteen years in an orphanage had made her very protective of her stuff, and she tends to lash out when someone gets too close to her bed, which was were she kept most of it.</p><p>There was a muffled <em>thump</em>, followed by an oomph. “Hey, hey, don’t hate the messenger!”</p><p>By pushed herself up into a sitting position and looked at Claude, sheepishly holding his hands up in the air, staring at her. After a minute, he started snickering, so By pinned him with her best and coldest glare. “What’s so funny?”</p><p>Claude, oblivious to the danger he was in, was still snickering, before he pointed at her. “Bedhead.”</p><p>“Get out,” By said with all the flat coldness she’d managed to accumulate over her twelve years at the orphanage, before throwing a second pillow at him. Claude, this time, seemed to realize, and quickly hurried out of the room, leaving By to herself. She sighed - her first time in a room all to herself, and she still couldn’t keep people out of it.</p><p>The thought that there might be a private room just for her in Enbarr with her family sombered her up, allowing her to get out of bed and get changed for the walk.</p><p>As she changed, By went over what she knew of the two people she had found herself tagging along with. They shared a small conversation last night, before the exhaustion from spending most of the day walking around had really hit her and she flitted off to bed.</p><p>Lorenz definitely seemed like some sort of former nobility. From his posture, to the way he ate, to his speech and mannerisms… from what By knew about royalty and status, he just screamed that he had it, once, before whatever happened to send him here happened. Probably from before the slaughter. He was respectful, bordering on polite, but with an air of he was better than everyone else and seemed to have the tendency to talk down to people.</p><p>Or maybe it was just Claude - the two of them had spent at least a third of dinner bickering over something By didn’t understand.</p><p>Then there was Claude, the obvious head. He was the type of boy Leonie would describe as a heart-stealer, with a certain charm and respectfulness to him that would have most ladies swooning (luckily for her, By wasn’t so easily swayed by people like that). Under that, however, By got the sense he was a schemer, something to be wary of, someone who planned five steps ahead of everyone.</p><p>And he seemed familiar, familiar in a way she couldn’t place, like she met him before. By couldn’t explain why, but it was just… there, tugging at the fog of her mind, but unable to quite break through. Why did he seem so familiar?</p><p>
  <em> “Hey, I brought you another slice of cake from the kitchens,” a quiet voice said, the tone somewhere between worried and enthused. A small plate with a slice of chocolate cake was shoved into her face, a fork resting under a small thumb. “Just don’t tell your parents, okay?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Like… a secret?” That voice sounded suspiciously like her own. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Sure, like a secret,” The voice said again as pale hands took the plate. “Our secret, hmm?” </em>
</p><p>As they made the walk to the train station, By picked up other small quirks and habits of theirs’ that she filed away into her head. Lorenz loved tea and roses, and was looking forward most to having a hot bath in Enbarr. Claude dabbled in poisons, stole stuff from the Agarthans and fenced them in Derdriu, and had apparently worked at the palace before the Agarthans took over, but he didn’t say much about that - it was more of an offhand comment he didn’t seem to want to elaborate on. </p><p>“What about you, By?” Claude asked, stepping to the side to let an old lady pass him in the streets. “What did you do before meeting us?”</p><p>“Well, ever since I was found, I lived in the orphanage,” By said, looking down at Sothis, safely cradled in her arms like the baby she was, not noticing Lorenz roughly nudging Claude in the side, or his quiet <em>hey! </em> “I’ve been doing many odd jobs over the past few years, trying to save up money to get… you know.”</p><p>“And the cat?” Lorenz asked, eager to change the subject from orphanages. “How long have you known her?”</p><p>“I met Sothis last year,” By said, reaching a finger up to scratch behind her ears. “She had gotten through the wall into the food when I found her, just a tiny kitten. It was the middle of winter - I couldn’t just leave her out in the snow and cold, especially after we found out it killed her mom and siblings. So I asked the head of the orphanage to look after her, and she let me keep her. She’s been with me ever since.”</p><p>Claude hummed, and when By looked up, he was staring at the cat with an odd look on his face. “And has she always been this… territorial, let’s say?”</p><p>“Claude!”</p><p>“What, I’m just curious!”</p><p>By hummed. “Yes, actually. She’s been a gremlin since I met her. Living on the cold streets had made her defensive, and since I found her, she’s only warmed up to me and three of my other friends. I think she thinks of me as a replacement for her mother, and thus doesn’t take too kindly to people chasing after me.”</p><p>“Sorry for thinking it was an Agarthan looking to jail anyone living in the palace,” Claude grumbled under his breath, and By rolled her eyes. He still had a small bandage slapped over where Sothis had clawed her.</p><p>“So, how did you find us?” Lorenz asked, seeming to want to change topics again.</p><p>“As I said, my friends,” By replied. “They were at the orphanage too, but they got visas from you two just under a month ago. They were the ones who told me that you two were the ones who managed to get them visas to them before they left.”</p><p>After that, they fell into silence, walking through the morning rush of Derdriu crowds on the way to the train station. The walk wasn’t too terribly long, only an hour away from Derdriu, but By had spent the majority of the day yesterday walking, too, and her legs were feeling it. She couldn’t wait to get on the train that would ferry them out of Derdriu, and with a little luck, Leicester.</p><p>To her family.</p>
<hr/><p>Claude</p>
<hr/><p>The walk had taken less time than he expected it would. Before he knew it, they were at the train station stationed at the Derdriu outskirts, far enough away that the smell of salt and frozen fish was almost imperceptible.</p><p>There would be many things Claude wouldn’t miss about Derdriu, but the smell of salt, surprisingly, would be one of them.</p><p>But not the fish. Definitely not the fish.</p><p>Now they were sitting on the benches outside, waiting for their train to come. Byleth had a hat shoved down low over her head, hair pulled up into a braid to hide the very distinctive blue coloring of it, and Claude had temporarily done up his old braid and mussed his hair up to what it used to be three years ago, lest there be any Agarthans crawling along the place, though he didn’t shave, for fear of making it seem younger than he was. </p><p>With the rumors circling around the city like vultures, no doubt the damn snakes would be slithering around, looking for anyone matching Byleth’s description. Add in the fact Lorenz was the son of the former and now-dead Count Gloucester, Claude is a Reigan and has been a royal pain in the Agarthans side since the first time he stole from them, they’re prime targets for jail, if they’re lucky, or execution, if they’re not.</p><p>They were sharing different stories about themselves waiting for the train to arrive, and Lorenz seemed determined to poke fun at Claude in every way possible. By, meanwhile, had her own tales of her days at the orphanage, and all the stuff she and some of the other kids had gotten into while there, a wistful look on her face.</p><p>“Hey, you okay?” Claude finally asked, leaning towards her while she was halfway through a story about the time her friend Raphael fought Sothis for the last piece of fish. By looked up at him, the mildest look of surprise on her face, before she nodded.</p><p>“Yeah… I’m fine. It’s just… Everything is changing, so fast,” She said, looking down at her lap. “Two days ago, I was an orphan with no family and a gaggle of friends. Now I’m about to go on a train to Enbarr, where three of those friends are at, and leaving the rest of them - and everything I know - behind on a hunch.”</p><p>“A hunch?” Lorenz asked, raising a brow. By pulled out the necklace from under her shirt again, holding it up.</p><p>“Yeah. I mean, we’re not a hundred percent sure that I’m you-know-who, and for all I know, I won’t even be able to find my family there. I’m not even sure if they’re alive, since it’s been twelve years since I’ve last seen them.” A frown crossed her face. “Even if I do, who’s to say they’ll recognize me, or will even want me?”</p><p>Claude frowned, searching for an answer to give, but he’s never been good at stuff like this. Finally, he settled on, “Well, whoever gave you that necklace gave it to you for a reason, a promise for you two to find each other. So… Whoever your family is, I’m sure they’ll want you, if they gave you that necklace.”</p><p>“I agree,” Lorenz nodded. “No matter how far the distance or how long it’s been, I’m sure that whoever your family is will want to see you. Wouldn’t it be a nice surprise, too, you suddenly showing up out of the blue as you will? Especially if they think you’re dead. Twelve years, after all, is a long time for a person to be missing.”</p><p>A quiet hum, as By let the necklace go and scratched behind Sothis’ ears. “I hope you’re right. I wouldn’t want to come all this way and leave behind everything I know for nothing.”</p><p>Claude sighed. “Well, I suppose we’ll find out when we get there.”</p><p>And if their hunches are right, well, Claude will be ecstatic.</p><p>But chances are they’re not. After all, Byleth Eisner is dead.</p><p>The thought makes a funny feeling appear in Claude’s chest, like they’re manipulating her, even though he knows they’re not. After all, By chose to come with them on a hunch, and with her memories gone, who’s to say for sure if she is or is not the princess?</p><p>But… except, they are.</p><p>Byleth is dead, and Claude’s making it seem like she’s not, making her seem like she is the successor to the Church, making it seem to the Captain that she’s someone so important, even when Claude knows she’s not. It’s tricking a man into thinking his daughter is alive, when Claude knows she’s not. Even so, it’s not like they’re lying to By, they’re just… omitting a few things.</p><p>So why <em>does</em> his chest feel so weird?</p><p>Before Claude can dwell on that, however, the whistle of the train signals its arrival, and blows away all previous thoughts and doubts as he stands, smiling.</p><p>“Well, there’s our train,” He says, grabbing his bag full of the meager items he has, including the jewelry box. “Look alive, you two - we’re headed for Enbarr.”</p>
<hr/><p>That cat hates him. Claude is sure of it.</p><p>It’s not his fault Sothis had been laying where Claude was going to sit, but there was no need to snarl at him, <em> sheesh</em>. After shooting a wan smile at By, Claude glared at the cat as he turned, taking the only open seat next to her, who watched the exchange with the slightest smile on her face. Lorenz, the traitor, was snickering.</p><p>“What’s so funny?” He asked the man, glaring.</p><p>“That a cat is bossing you around, Claude,” Lorenz replied with that trademark, annoying-ass smug of his.</p><p>“Shut up,” Claude snapped at the man, not in the mood to deal with Lorenz right now. After twelve years, he was finally getting out of Derdriu, and he had the perfect fake Byleth he can use to get 500,000 gold, and he does <em>not</em> want  to let Lorenz and his pretentious, stuffy attitude ruin the mood.</p><p>Next to him, By was fiddling with her necklace, looking left, right, down, and back up again. Claude nudged her in the side.</p><p>“Stop fiddling with that thing, you’re gonna make us look suspicious,” He whispered, before he frowned. “And sit up straight, too. Remember, you’re a high-ranking member of the Church, so you have to act like it. That means no slouching.”</p><p>By shot him with a look. “How do you know what royals do or don’t do?”</p><p>“I worked at the palace, and I’ve been friends with <em>him</em>-” He jerked a thumb at Lorenz, who made an affronted noise- “for four years. It’s practically my job to know. And if we want to really sell this, you’re the one who’s going to have to act like a royal, like a lady. I’m just trying to help.”</p><p>Lorenz sighed, as did By, and Claude just rolled his eyes in return.</p><p>“Hey, Claude?”</p><p>“Yes, By?”</p><p>“Do you really think I’m royalty?”</p><p>Claude glanced at By again, who was already looking at him, but her face gave away no indications of what she was thinking - it was like trying to read stone. Also, hadn’t they already gone over this before? “You know that I do.”</p><p>“Then stop bossing me around!” By snapped in a flat, commanding tone, very much like one a royal or noble would use, leaning towards him, and Claude leaned back in response. Lorenz laughed.</p><p>“Shut up,” Claude grumbled, sinking further into his seat, already hating this car and wishing he was out.</p><p>“Who?” By asked, faux innocence.</p><p>“Both of you.”</p><p>By just stuck her tongue out at him, before quickly glancing at the window before Claude could say anything. He glared. This whole damn world is out to get him.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. emergency exit</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>As tensions between By and Claude arise, the train to Garreg Mach is stopped, and they learn a few things about each other</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>am i posting this instead of working on my government test? yes i am</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>By</p><p>Afternoon is starting to fall by the time Claude, who had left the compartment at one point, came back inside.</p><p>By, every bit like the royal she may or may not be, ignored him by sticking her book into her nose. In the peripheral of her vision, she can see him taking a seat across from her, in the space Sothis had vacated earlier to curl up into her lap.</p><p>After a few moments of tense silence, Claude spoke.</p><p>“Listen, I think we got off on the wrong foot,” Claude said, causing By to pause, before she closed her book and set it down next to her.</p><p>“Okay,” She started, slowly, before tacking on, “I think we did, too.” After all, most of the friends she had made in the orphanage, they had gotten off on a fine foot. Well, except for Cyril, but he was an exception because he was new, scared, and alone in a country that hated his kind. “But I appreciate your apology.”</p><p>They both knew there was no apology, but, well, By would be lying if she said she didn’t like to mess with people sometimes.</p><p>“Apology?” Claude started, sounding confused. “Who said anything about an apology? I was just saying-”</p><p>By rolled her eyes.</p><p>“Claude-”</p><p>“-that we were both kinda getting off-”</p><p>“Claude, if you keep talking, it’s only going to upset me. Okay?”</p><p>A huff. “Fine, fine, I’ll shut up,” he said, waving his arms in front of his face. “But only if you be quiet too.”</p><p>Oh, so he’s going to play it like that, huh? Well, two can play at that game. “Fine, I’ll be quiet,” By huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning back into the seat, and Claude did the same, crossing one leg over the other.</p><p>“Fine.”</p><p>“Fine.”</p><p>
  <em>“Fine.”</em>
</p><p>She moves her gaze so she’s looking out the window, at the snow-covered plains of Leicester. They had lost sight of the ocean long ago, but the trees and the landscaping ultimately remained the same as the train chugged along towards Garreg Mach City. From there, they would get a bus to another port city known as Almeman, and from there, they would take a boat to Enbarr.</p><p>But the train just had to get out of Leicester first, though.</p><p>It was crazy to think that, after twelve years, By would finally be getting out of here, that she would be going to Enbarr. She was leaving everything and everyone she knew behind on this simple little hunch, a strand of hope, a rare thing to come across these days. Many people in Leicester haven’t had hope, haven’t had it since the Agarthans took over.</p><p>“...Do you think you’re going to miss it?” By’s voice shattered the tense silence that had overtaken the small compartment, and she absentmindedly rubbed a hand through Sothis’ fur.</p><p>“Miss what… Your talking?” Claude asked with a cheeky grin and a raised brow. By rolled her eyes, looking down at the calico.</p><p>“No. Derdriu. Leicester.”</p><p>“Nope,” Claude said, popping the ‘p’, and his gaze drifted towards the window as well, finally uncrossing his arms from in front of his chest and bringing them down to his sides.</p><p>“Why not?” By couldn’t help but be a little curious. After all, he’d lived here for most of his life, same as she has. It was the only comfort she knew, likely as it had been for him, so why wasn’t he going to miss it? “Wasn’t it your home?”</p><p>“No, it wasn’t,” Claude said, not meeting her gaze, a wistful look in those familiar emerald green eyes of his. “It’s not my home, and never will be my home. It was just a place I lived, and now it’s not. End of story.”</p><p>By blinked. “Does that mean you’re planning on finding a home in Enbarr?”</p><p>“What is it with you and homes?” Claude asked, a bit of a bite to his voice as he finally made eye contact with her. His own gleam darkly, the wistfulness to them gone like a candle in the wind.</p><p>This time, she scoffed and looked away. “Maybe it’s because I’ve never had one before, either. Not one I remember, at least,” By replied. “It’s something that… something that every normal person wants. A place where you… you…”</p><p>Where you what? Have a family? Have love? Have a roof over your head and good food and warmth? Have people you care about? There are so many things By wants to choose to describe the idea of home to her, but… none of them seem right.</p><p>“You… what?” Claude finished.</p><p>“You…” By scrambled for an answer. “You have… Oh, forget it.”</p><p>“Fine,” Claude hummed, looking to the window once more, and another tense silence spread between them. By sighed, silently, running a hand through Sothis’ fur, thinking of all the things she would miss about Derdriu. She’d miss the smell of the salt, and the coldness of the ocean water on the occasions they went swimming. She’d miss seeing all these exotic items from all over Leicester, and even Faerghus and Adrestia and Almyra, the stalls in Derdriu a splash of color in the dreariness of the place.</p><p>The people. Mostly, it was the people.</p><p>Ashe’s uncanniness to sunshine even in the bleakest of winter, the songs Dorothea would sing to her when she couldn’t fall asleep, helping Cyril out with the chores. Leonie’s laughter when the two of them sparred in case they ever needed it, Raphael smiles and bear hugs that made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside, and the beauty of Ignatz's paintings he spent so much time and money on.</p><p>“Well… If I’m being honest, there is one thing I miss.”</p><p>Claude’s voice cuts through the din of silence between them, soft and quiet and clear, causing By to startle and look up at him. He was still looking out the window, but he had a hand on the satchel that seemed to never leave his person.</p><p>After a few seconds, By tentatively asked, “What?”</p><p>“There was… someone I knew, a long time ago,” Claude continued, still not looking at her. The train whistle sounded. “They were… important to me, you could say. But they… Something happened to them after the riots, twelve years ago. I haven’t seen them since.” He sighed, shoulders slumping, and looked up at her.</p><p>“I know it’s crazy, but some part of me always thought I’d find them out in the streets somewhere, and we could reunite, but… now that I’m leaving Derdriu, unless they left, too, I don’t think I’ll ever even have the chance to see them, no matter how slim. Now I only really have one thing to remember them by - tucked right here, in this satchel.” He patted it twice, as if to prove his point.</p><p>By glanced down at it, before looking back up at Claude. “Can I… Can I see it?”</p><p>“No,” Claude said quickly, moving one hand so it sat protectively in front of it. “It’s secret. Personal.”</p><p>“Well, who is it? If you give me their name, maybe I can see if I knew them from the orphanage. That way, you could at least know if they’re safe.” Safe as one can be in these times, at least.</p><p>Claude scoffs. “That is also personal.”</p><p>“It’s just a name,” By protested.</p><p>“A name of a very important person to me that I’d like to keep secret for personal reasons.”</p><p>Oh. The meaning of that hit By a moment later. “So… You had a crush on them.”</p><p>Sputtering, Claude sits up straighter in the chair. “Th- I had- wh- No, I did not have a <em>crush</em> on them!” He protests, cheeks turning a shade darker than they were before. “We barely even knew each other, how could I have a crush on them?!”</p><p>“Because you’ve been thinking about them for twelve years,” By replied matter-of-factly. Although she’s never quite experienced one herself, she’s heard more than enough from Dorothea and read enough books to let her know what it was like.</p><p>“It was not a crush!”</p><p>The door opened at that moment, and Lorenz stepped into the room. Claude immediately stood up, pointing.</p><p>“Oh, thank the stars you’re here!” Claude groaned, looking about five seconds from wrapping the man into a hug. “Can you please take her out to get some food or something? She’s driving me nuts!”</p><p>Lorenz looked between them with an expression of dismay on his face. “Oh, Claude, what have you done to her now?”</p><p>Claude squawked. “Hey, why do you assume it’s me?!”</p><p>“Because it’s always you,” Lorenz said, unimpressed. Claude’s jaw dropped, before he pointed at By.</p><p>“Well, it’s not me this time, it’s her!”</p><p>“Me?” By asked, pointing at herself. “I haven’t done anything! I’m just trying to have a simple conversation!”</p><p>Ugh, she needs to get out of here, she does not do so well cramped up in small rooms all day long. Shaking her head, she pried Sothis off her lap (who was not very happy about that, mind you), before making her way out of the train car, slamming the door behind her.</p>
<hr/><p>Claude</p>
<hr/><p>“Ah, I see what’s happening,” Lorenz says a few minutes after the doors slam shut. Claude can feel his eye twitching already, especially once Lorenz looks at him with a smug look on his face. “You like her, Claude.”</p><p>His brain short-circuited.</p><p>He likes-</p><p>Claude likes-</p><p>Claude likes <em>her?</em></p><p>Sure, he can admit she’s attractive, and she seems to be his type - he's dated a few women before, and seems to lean towards strong, warrior-types, like his dad did - but how can he like someone he just met <em>yesterday</em>? There’s no such thing as <em>love at first sight.</em></p><p>“What?” He says, unable to really comprehend what absurdity Lorenz is saying. The worst part is, he can't tell if Lorenz is just ribbing him or actually being serious. “You’re thinking that I like her? Have you lost your mind?”</p><p>“Don’t be so quick to dismiss the idea, Claude,” Lorenz said, taking a seat on the chairs. “This is, after all, the first time we’ve had such lovely lady company in quite a while. And it’s only natural that you fall for someone eventually, especially with someone who seems to challenge you so.”</p><p>“We bicker all the goddamn time, and yet I'm not about to go out and buy you roses and a diamond engagement ring,” Claude mutters, flopping back down onto his seat. He kicks his legs up, ready to set them on the opposite side of the chair now that it’s free, but Sothis glares at hisses at him. Claude glares right back at her, before scoffing and shaking his head. “I like her - you’re crazy, Lorenz.”</p><p>Lorenz just tuts.</p><p>Well, it’s not like this trip get any worse. Just a few more days until they reach Garreg Mach, and they’ll be out of Leicester, and the dangerous grasp of Agarthan military hands, and they won’t have to be looking over their shoulders every five seconds.</p>
<hr/><p>It’s another hour into the ride when it <em>does</em> get worse.</p><p>Claude’s gone to the dining car to get some food when he passes through one of the train cars further up ahead. It’s during this when he overhears a conversation. Or, at least, part of one.</p><p>“-month, the traveling papers were in red. Now they’re in blue.”</p><p><em>Blue</em>.</p><p>Blue, and not red.</p><p>Hadn’t Lorenz gotten them red?</p><p>Quickly, he pulls out his own, and feels the blood drain from his face, before looking at the other persons’. Sure enough, his own travel papers, complete with his fake name and fake age, were backed in dark red ink, while the other ones were in blue.</p><p>Fuck. Fuck, they were fucked.</p><p>“Papers, papers. We need papers.”</p><p>Great. Perfect <em>fucking</em> timing.</p><p>Claude looks over his shoulder to see a short man with a ridiculously <em>gigantic</em> forehead that would be comical if the situation weren’t so dire at the end of the train car. The people in the booths were handing visas in ocean-blue backings, and Claude is sure his heart stops beating for a minute.</p><p>Shoving the visa into his pocket, Claude hurries down the compartment as fast as he could, mind already trying to come up with various lies he could use and various escape plans in case things really go south. Which it could, really fast, because that man was wearing the typical outfit an Agarthan soldier wore, and the badges on it indicate he was high up in the force. And between the rumors spreading that the successor to the Church was alive and the 500,000 dollar reward Captain Jeralt was offering, they’d surely be looking for anyone who resembled Byleth Eisner’s description.</p><p>By was a walking carbon-copy target. Lorenz was former nobility, as was Claude, not to mention had been messing with the soldiers as much as he could without getting caught for years. They were sure to be recognized if they were found.</p><p>“Guys, we got a problem,” Claude said in the safety of the compartment once he closed the doors. Lorenz, who was reading a book, looked up at him, startled, and By, who was sleeping curled up on the end of the seat, seemed to stir, but not awaken.</p><p>“What is it?” Lorenz asked, already standing up.</p><p>“The papers are wrong - it’s in blue, not red, and there’s a high-ranking Agarthan guard just a car down from us,” Claude snapped, shoving his paper to Lorenz as he moved to wake up By.</p><p>“Then we should head to the baggage car, at least for now,” Lorenz said. Claude starts shaking By, who just swats his arm away.</p><p>“Go ‘way, Sothis, not feeding you, gremlin…” She mutters, so Claude shakes her some more.</p><p>“By, we have a crisis, time to get up,” Claude says, hissing the words out, and he shakes her some more.</p><p>This time, he gets a fist to the face that smacks across his one uninjured cheek and stumbling against the wall of the compartment. He yells on instinct, barely refraining from spitting out curses in Almyran, hand flying up to check for any injuries, as By startles.</p><p>“Oh my god, I’m so sorry! I didn’t - I thought you were trying to-” By scrambles, but doesn’t finish that sentence. “I’m sorry, are you okay?”</p><p>“Fuckin’ peachy,” He growls, before he shakes it off and starts grabbing luggage from the overhead. <em>Geez</em>, that was some punch! When he’s done, Claude grabs By’s hand and starts tugging her out of the compartment, hissing, “Act natural.”</p><p>“What? What’s going on?” By asked, looking between him and Lorenz as they made their way back to the baggage car. Behind him, he can hear the one guy from before asking for papers, and he’s <em>closer, damnit!</em></p><p>“I think you broke my nose,” Claude grumbles in lieu of an actual answer, even though she hit his cheek and not his nose. By scoffs, shrugging on her coat, and when it's on, Sothis hops onto her shoulders once more.</p><p>“Men are such babies,” She mutters under her breath, and Claude glares at her, hoping she’ll stay silent.</p><p>And she does. Until they enter the baggage car, at least.</p><p>Out here, Claude can really feel the cold again, and it’s doubled now that it’s nighttime. It seeps into his bones, and he shivers, rubbing his arms - stars, he can’t wait until he’s in Enbarr, and he doesn’t have to be so fucking cold all the time!</p><p>“Are you really planning on having us spending the rest of the trip in here?” Lorenz hissed in Claude’s ear. “She’ll freeze to death out here. We’ll <em>all</em> freeze to death out here!”</p><p>“We’ll thaw in Enbarr,” Claude snipes back. “Besides, being freezing and miserable is better than being jailed or shot to death.”</p><p>“The baggage car?” By asks, looking around as Claude sets their stuff down, and he nods. “There wouldn’t be anything wrong with our papers… Would there, maestro?” She fixes a glare at him, and Claude winces, rubbing the back of his neck as he scrambles for an excuse.</p><p>“Uhh… Nope! No, nothing at all, your grace,” he says, shaking his head, nearly biting his tongue when he says your grace, before he decides to roll with it. “It’s… just that… a lady in your position shouldn’t be forced to intermingle with… with all those commoners!”</p><p>Lorenz groans as By fixes him with a glare cold enough to freeze over even Enbarr, and Claude winces, rubbing the back of his neck.</p><p>“Claude, your lying is getting worse,” Lorenz grumbled, shaking his head, before he turns to By. “Yes. Apparently, the papers are now blue instead of red. And with the Agarthans looking for the missing Eisner and, as thus, anyone resembling your description, we’ll likely be arrested if found out. If not shot.”</p><p>By, at least, seems to take it in stride. “Nice to be wanted,” she grumbles, but there’s little humor behind it.</p><p>And then the door slams open. Sothis yowls.</p><p>Claude whips around to face it, only to see the man with the humongous forehead - <em>ew</em>, and now he can like, see the veins popping out of them, what the <em>fuck</em> do they dope these guys on? - standing in the doorway, grinning eerily.</p><p>“So… What’s this I hear about blue papers instead of red? And the missing Byleth Eisner?” His eyes swivel over and lock on By, and Claude feels his heart-stopping.</p><p>Fuck. They’re screwed. And he knows they’re screwed, so he doesn’t bother with saying anything because his famed silver tongue will be useless here. Instead, he just squares his shoulders and waits for judgment.</p><p>“I’m Solon, and I work for the Agarthan Military. I think you’ll three will have to come with me,” The man says, his voice a slow drawl and amused, like he’s having fun dragging out their inevitable capture, probable torture, and possible deaths. Claude squeezes his eyes shut. Can’t the universe just take pity on him this once and give him a quick, clean death instead of-</p><p>
  <em>Crack!</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Thud!</em>
</p><p>The sound of flesh on flesh sounds throughout the baggage car, and there’s the distinctive sound of a body falling to the ground a moment later. Claude’s eyes snap open to see Solon on the ground, groaning. By, meanwhile, standing in front of Solon, one arm stretched out and clenched in a fist, legs shifted into a fighting stance.</p><p>Well. Claude was... impressed.</p><p>She certainly did know how to pack a punch.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>with a forehead like that, Solon may as well just hang a sign around his neck that says "Punch me"</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. confrontation in the baggage car</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>By shows off a different side of herself. </p><p>Meanwhile, Kronya looks for a way to either prove or disprove the rumors that Princess Byleth is alive.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Fair warning, this chapter does include a panic attack! And while I've had anxiety attacks, I've never had panic attacks before, so if I portrayed anything wrong, please tell me in the comments so I can make it seem better/more natural! I've put line breaks around it, and it starts 'A boom rips through the air, practically shredding By’s eardrums, and the train rocks under her feet-' and ends with 'Lorenz nods'.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><br/>
By</p><p>By had spent twelve years in an orphanage, surrounded by all sorts of people from all sorts of walks of life, and all sorts of different pasts. Some of the kids were adopted fairly quickly, but for the ones that weren’t and stayed, they often stayed long enough for them to teach her about stuff, and vice versa.</p><p>Dorothea had taught her how to use Black and Dark magic, late at night in the summers when everyone else was asleep so they wouldn’t be caught. By the time she left, she was casting Bologones that could take down a tree. Ashe taught her to pickpocket and steal from other people, occasionally practicing on some of the Agarthan Soldiers that marched through Derdriu when they went out to get food together.</p><p>Ignatz had taught her how to shoot, after he somehow got his hands on a small pistol that he kept hidden under a loose floorboard under his bed. With his glasses on, he was an amazing shot, having apparently been taught by his brother before he was killed, and they would go out into the forests and near the ocean to practice hitting targets when she wasn’t practicing black magic with Dorothea, even if she wasn't as good as he was. Raphael taught her how to train her muscles, how to get a good workout with little food and equipment, devising a personal exercise regime for By that she’d been following for four years.</p><p>Leonie, though, was the one who taught her how to <em>fight</em>. Her father had been a mercenary, fighting in small groups against the Agarthan soldiers in their hometown before he was killed. But before he was killed, he also taught his daughter how to fight, how to throw a punch and a kick and block, how to use an opponent’s weight against themselves, should the need ever arrive. After Leonie arrived when By was about thirteen, they spent days sparring out in the yard, punching and kicking and fighting to their heart’s content.</p><p>Then, when she was sixteen, she, Leonie, and Raphael discovered an underground brawling tournament in Derdriu. The quickest way to get money in this day and age, if you were a good fighter.</p><p>And good fighters they were.</p><p>They only watched the first night, hidden in the back of the crowd with the shadows to conceal them from prying eyes. But the next day, the three of them picked up masks from a stall in Derdriu and asked around the city for more information about this fight club.</p><p>It happened a few nights a week, but the places always varied so the Agarthan soldiers couldn’t figure them out and arrest them. One needed to be a standard fighter before they could get the information about where the fight would be the day before it happens, and to be a standard fighter, they needed ten wins.</p><p>Two weeks of waiting and hoping later, By, Leonie, and Raphael managed to stumble upon one of the rings. Without a second thought, the three of them joined the fights. Raphael and By both lost the first battles, but Leonie won her first one. For each of them, it took different months before they were asked to be standard fighters. Raphael was five months, Leonie was nine, and By was eight. When each of them joined, they all gave them different names. Raphael gave the name The Beast of Leicester. Leonie was The Bone Breaker. By herself had given them the nickname of The Ashen Demon. It took another nine months and ranked tourney before she was given the name of Champion, and a commemorative pendant to go with that she had stolen and was now hanging on her hip.</p><p>
  <em>(“What? It’s fake gold, no one’s going to miss it,” By had said to Leonie after informing her she was going to take the pendant with her. “It’s a trophy of mine, and I won it.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Leonie had just sighed, then laughed.)</em>
</p><p>So. When an Agarthan soldier with a large forehead found them out, By didn’t need to think twice before she cracked her fist against his forehead - really, the size of that thing was just asking to be punched - and nose, sending him crashing to the floor of the train car.</p><p>“What the fuck,” Lorenz muttered behind her, and when By glanced over her shoulder, he was staring at Solon on the ground, jaw hanging wide open and eyes wide. Claude looked very much the same.</p><p>“Oh, did I forget to mention I participated in Derdriu’s underground brawl?” She said innocently. Claude looked up and glared at her.</p><p>“Yes, I think that you did,” he grumbled. “But right now, we have to get off this train!”</p><p>“How? We’re going way to-”</p><p>“You vermin! You’ll pay for that!” Solon roars, and By looks over her shoulder to see the old man getting to his feet, raising a hand. Black magic crackles on the end of it, and she leaps on instinct. White-hot pain tears through her shoulder a moment later as she stumbles into Claude, and she hears crashing and the sound of wood splitting.</p><p>“By! Are you-”</p><p>“Don’t focus on me!” By snapped at him, getting to her feet, hissing in pain as pins and needles stab their way into her shoulder. “You wanna slow down this train, you’re going to have to uncouple the car!”</p><p>“We’ll still be trapped with<em> him!”</em> Lorenz says, gesturing to Solon, then to the large hole in the cart behind where By had been standing. She winces. That’s a Death Γ alright.</p><p>“I’ll deal with him!” By said, turning to face Solon once more, who was glaring at her. “Just uncouple the car!”</p><p>“How?!” The two men shout at the same time.</p><p>“Oh, you two won’t be getting past me,” Solon said, in a dark, deep voice that sends shivers down her spine-</p><p>
  <em>“What would you like to read today, young child?” A man with honey-blonde hair combed to the left asks. He stands in front of several large bookcases and has a cane in one hand. He’s running a finger across the bindings of several books on the shelves. “Fantasy? Or perhaps a slice-of-life? Whatever you want, I can help you find it.”</em>
</p><p>-and she blinks, and the man she saw is replaced by Solon.</p><p><em>What the fuck?</em> By asks herself, before she shakes her head.<em> No, this is a fight, get your head back into the game! Figure whatever the fuck that was out later!</em></p><p>Leonie had always taught her how speed is important in a battle, so By moves first. She’s quick to dart forward, striking out at the man with a fist.</p><p>Solon responds with a step to the side and a raised hand, so By follows it up with a high swing kick. She reaches up as far as she can go, swinging over his arm and cracking her boot across his face. He stumbles back, and By goes to follow up with another punch, but Solon catches her hand.</p><p>There’s the telltale crackle of dark magic, and then her hand burns.</p><p>Yelping, By darts away from him, cradling her injured hand to her chest. When more black magic crackles on Solon’s hands, she bodily throws herself to the side, behind one of the boxes.</p><p>A box labeled <strong>Danger: Explosives.</strong></p><p>Another boom rocks the train.</p><p>By grins.</p><p>She reaches up and into the box, closing her fingers around the first stick of dynamite she can reach. And luckily for her, she has her own lighter. A quick turn of her head reveals Claude and Lorenz standing behind her, looking between them and her worriedly, and Lorenz is holding Sothis in his arms.</p><p>Claude spots the dynamite - and gets - it first. His eyes widen comically.</p><p>“And how are you going to light it?” He asks, blinking at her owlishly. Then he ducks behind the barrel he’d placed himself behind as a Misma flies past them.</p><p>“Hey! Forehead!” By shouts to Solon, popping out from behind the box, waving the stick around with one hand. The other, she holds up, casting the runes for a fireball. “Over here!”</p><p>Solon looks at her. His left eye widens. By throws the stick of dynamite, and casts the fireball a second later, before she ducks down behind the box. Claps her hands over her ears.</p><p>A boom rips through the air, practically shredding By’s eardrums, and the train rocks under her feet-</p>
<hr/><p>The sound of gunshots ring in her ears, distant in nature, but they’re close, too close,<em> too close,</em> she can feel them in her bones, rattling and cracking against her ribcage. Against the floor. Against the wall. Steel on steel, a clang that bounces around her head and pierces her skull.</p><p>The sharp scent of smoke, of blood. Metal on her tongue, in her nose. Sharp. Heavy. Cloying. It sinks into her lungs, settling against the bottom like a stone in a lake and she <em>can’t <strong>breathe-</strong></em></p><p>"By?" </p><p>There are people telling her to run, and she can feel hands on her arms, tight enough to leave bruises as they pull, her fingers buzzing with pins and needles. Her lungs and chest burn and ache with every step, her throat scorching. It flickers between hot and cold, hot and cold, raspy and unkind. She's dimly aware that she needs to move, to run, but there's something she's missing - what? What is she missing? Why can't she remember? The world sways under her feet.</p><p>It's important, she knows, very important, but she can't remember. She can't remember what's missing. She can't remember why she heard gunshots. She can't remember why she needs to move, to run - she just does. A primal, animal instinct-</p><p>"By!"</p><p>Fingers snapping - <em>gunshots rattling</em> - and By holds her breath. Her. They're looking for her- who is? They want to... they want to... </p><p>"Find them! Don't let them escape!"</p><p>Flashes of red - is that blood? No, no it's not blood its hair but it's dark and it looks like blood but its hair and - and <em>eyes</em>, eyes the color of blood-</p><p>"By, can you hear me?" </p><p>She nods, since she can't seem to breathe, to get her mouth to work - her breath comes in too quick, too slow, <em>too slow, she's</em> too slow she needs to <strong><em>move-</em></strong></p><p>"Okay. I need you to follow what I'm saying, okay?" The voice - Lorenz? it sounds like Lorenz - says, and By nods again. "On my count, breathe in for five seconds, then hold for four, and exhale for seven - can you do that? Nod once if you can." Another nod. "Okay, on my count. One-"</p><p>Slowly, the squeezing in her chest, the need to move, to run, fades, and the world comes back into view. Lorenz is kneeling in front of her, concern on his face, and Claude is standing behind him, looking between Lorenz and herself. When she makes eye contact with him, he gives a strained smile. There's rough wood under her palms, and her back is pressed to something.</p><p>"Are you feeling better?" Lorenz asked, frowning. By gulps, swallowing the lump in her throat, and takes assessment of herself. Her chest still feels tight, her hands still tingle and buzz, and her stomach feels unsettled but... She doesn't feel good, but she doesn't feel horrible, either. </p><p>"I... I think so," she chokes out, voice catching, and she sucks in another breath. The taste of metal still hadn't left her mouth. Her ears still rung. But she feels... okay. "T-thank you."</p>
<hr/><p>Lorenz nods. </p><p>"Do you know what caused the panic attack?" Claude asked from where he sat, arms crossed over his chest and shoved under his armpits, lips pinched. His eyes had lost some of that gleam from before, instead a shade darker, darting around the train car, never landing on one place for too long. </p><p>Panic attack. Where had By heard that before?</p><p>She can't remember.</p><p>She can never remember.</p><p>"I... I think it was the... the explosive," she says, frowning. "It brought... it brought back... something." She frowns. "Feelings." <em>Panic. Danger. The need to run.</em> "But... nothing else." </p><p>Claude and Lorenz exchange a glance. Sothis trots up to her, and By doesn't think before grabbing the cat and pulling her to her chest, burying her head into her fur. <em>Inhale</em>.  Breathe.</p><p>She smells like cat and fur. Not smoke. Not blood. Not fear.</p><p>“Badass as that was, I think we should avoid doing that in the future," Claude says, voice quiet as Lorez offers her a hand. By shifts Sothis in her arms and takes it, and he helps her to her feet. A sudden bout of dizziness runs over her, and By gasps as the world sways under her feet. Before she can fall, though, two hands grab her shoulders, and she hits something solid before she's righted again. Her stomach tilts.</p><p>"Thank you," She says again, once she realized it was Claude who caught her. He nods.</p><p>"No problem," he says, before looking to the side. "What the hell did they even teach you at that orphanage?" </p><p>By follows his gaze, letting go of Lorenz's hand so she can hold Sothis better. She still feels unsteady on her feet, and leans a little against Claude's arm, who thankfully says nothing.</p><p>There’s a large hole at the front of the baggage car, wood falling down from the roof, showing that their car had disconnected with the cars ahead of them. She smells blood - where is that scent coming from? She can't have- she can't have killed Solon, could she? The weight settles on her chest again.</p><p>“And where is Solon?” Lorenz asks as By observes the wreckage - the wreckage she caused.</p><p>“He’s not there?” Claude replies, looking at Lorenz.</p><p>“Do you see him, Claude?” Lorenz states, making a gesture with his hand, and By looks up, glancing around the train car. Sure enough, Solon is no longer there, anywhere in sight. She can't tell if that's good or bad. </p><p>“I wonder if he warped away,” By grumbled, recalling how Dorothea told her certain people could learn warping spells with enough practice. Goddess, she hoped he warped away, that he hadn’t taken a life.</p><p>“Well, he’s not here, so I say we haul ass once this train stops,” Claude says as By buries her head back into Sothis’s fur. “We’ll coast to a stop, and then run.”</p><p>“Okay, but how do we get to Garreg Mach, now that the military is likely to be following us?” By asks.</p><p>“Actually, I believe I may have a solution to that,” Lorenz says. “Under Garreg Mach is, apparently, an ancient and vase system of tunnels that stretch across all three countries - Leicester, Adrestia and Faerghus. All we have to do is find one of those tunnels, and follow it to Garreg Mach. Since Garreg Mach is a neutral city and heavily guarded, the Agarthans likely won’t follow us there, and we can get back on track to getting to Enbarr.”</p><p>“So we just need to reach Garreg Mach,” Claude says, replies, and Sothis starts to purr. “I think we can do that pretty easily.”</p><p>“Not that we have much of a choice,” Lorenz replied. “If we go back to Derdriu now, we’re sure to be found, especially since that Solon has seen our faces.”</p><p>“Then to Garreg Mach we go,” By muttered, looking up from Sothis.</p><p>And then from there, Enbarr.</p>
<hr/><p>Kronya</p>
<hr/><p>“We have a problem, Kronya.”</p><p>Kronya scoffed, shaking her head as she watched the trees passing by the train.</p><p>“A problem is one word for it,” she snapped at Solon, whose hair is still smoldering from the stick of dynamite. Where had those vermin even found them at?!</p><p>The rumors were bad enough. Even just a rumor that another Eisner was alive was enough to give hope to the people of this country. And that was before that damned Captain had offered 50,000 gold coins for her safe return.</p><p>It was fake, of course. Byleth Eisner was dead.</p><p>But Cornelia had shuffled her and that imbecile Solon onto the train to look for anyone matching the successor’s description, in case she tried to flee to Enbarr.  She didn’t expect to find a near-perfect match to the princess, or the son of that damned Count Gloucester, or the pickpocket that’s been giving the soldiers in Derdriu a hard time for ages. It must be her lucky day - she’d finally be able to enact some revenge on those damn Nabateans.</p><p>Or, it would’ve been, if that idiot Solon hadn’t messed it up and let them escape!</p><p>“How did this even happen, you dolt?” Kronya snapped at Solon.</p><p>“Like I said, the woman, Byleth-“</p><p>“-Byleth Eisner is <em>dead</em>.”</p><p>“The woman managed to get her hands on an explosive, and she had access to spells. Including a fireball,” Solon explained. “I was lucky to get away when I did.”</p><p>“And how did you know they weren’t who they said they were?” Kronya asked him.</p><p>“They had red papers instead of blue, and I caught them hurrying over to the baggage car, standing out like a sore thumb.”</p><p>Kronya huffed. “What did they look like?” Better to know her enemies before they knew her.</p><p>“The tallest man had purple hair, and a long face, looking very much like the late Count Gloucester. The other boy had dark skin and green eyes, with an earring in his left ear. Almyran, probably. And the last one, the woman, was a dead ringer to Princess Byleth.”</p><p>So Byleth Eisner had somehow made it out then, Kronya thought to herself, glaring at Solon. And Solon let her escape. For a moment, she considered killing the fool, but his magic prowess was on par with that of Lord Thales, and Cornelia and her had never gotten along, and she didn’t even know where that damned Death Knight was at nowadays.</p><p>And why did that dark-skinned kid sound so familiar?</p><p>Pah, whatever. She had more important things to focus on. Like the fact Lady Byleth may be alive and running from Leicester with two vagabonds. </p><p>“Your orders, Kronya?”</p><p>“My orders are to hunt them down, and kill them.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>By, decking Solon: Vibe Check!</p><p>-</p><p>by is a mercenary, so of course i had to include a scene of her punching solon.<br/>Do not try what she did with the explosive at home, kiddos.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. a (not so) brief history of the alliance</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>They have a long walk to Garreg Mach, so Lorenz tells By about the history of Leicester and the conflict between the Church and the Agarthans</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This is just a lot of talk, but it is some backstory/lore, and i hated writing it as much as you probably dislike reading it ^^;</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Claude</p><p>Walking fucking sucked.</p><p>His legs have been aching for hours, the cold wind was tearing through his meager traveling clothes and biting into his skin, his boots were soaked through, and he was starving. And they were still a good while of walking before they reached Garreg Mach, and that was provided that they didn’t run into any Agarthan Soldiers on the way over.</p><p>Despite that, Claude wanted to keep walking, so the Agarthans wouldn’t have any time to catch up to them. But he’s also been up for over twenty-four hours, nighttime is falling again, and he wants to sleep and regain some energy.</p><p>Ever since the train slowed to a stop, the group spent the rest of the night walking, progress slow, because By was still nauseous and unsteady on her feet, shaken from her panic attack on the train. She spent the first few hours sandwiched between himself and Lorenz, leaning on one of them when the dizzy spells got bad. They took a break at around dawn, and another at midday, but it doesn’t change the fact Claude hasn’t slept in ages.</p><p>Eventually, though, they had decided to make camp, and to start a fire before they all froze to death, with a meager pile of firewood from damp sticks and twigs lit by By’s fireball spell.</p><p>Now the three of them were huddled around the fire, snacking on the meager food supplies they brought with them - mostly By. She had certainly brought more bags than him or Lorenz, a total of three compared to his one and Lorenz’s two, and she appeared to have no trouble carrying them, even though Claude offered to take one of them off her hands.</p><p>Which brought Claude to the question he wanted to ask.</p><p>“So, By - where did you learn to fight like that?” He asked her, very curious as to where her knowledge of skills came from. Claude himself remembered a bit of how to shoot a gun or fight with an axe from his parents, and although Lorenz knew some Dark Magic due to his previous status as a noble, he apparently hadn’t practiced since he was nine and the Agarthans took over - the Agarthans forcefully recruited anyone with a talent for magic into their team.</p><p>“Yes, I am curious as well,” Lorenz added. “After all, many people who are seen to be adept in dark or black magic are… forced to work for the Agarthans, to put it nicely.”</p><p>By hummed, nudging the fire with a long stick. “Well, we got a lot of kids in the orphanage, and each one of them had different skills. One of them, Dorothea, taught me basic black and dark magic during the night, and we’d steal textbooks about it from here and there to learn better as we got older. And my two other friends, Leonie and Raphael, were the ones who taught me how to fight.” She looked up, her gaze somewhere between wistful and sad. “We would spar in the forest near the orphanage when we had time.”</p><p>“And how did that lead you to Derdriu’s underground fight tournaments?” He queried, leaning forward. “From what I’ve heard, it’s hard to get into those things, several security measures and precautions being taken by the organizers to keep the Agarthans from finding it.” Claude still remembers the one night they had chosen to have it in the palace, six years ago, that had almost got him caught. If it wasn’t for his knowledge of the servants’ corridors, it probably would’ve.</p><p>“Oh, it was hard all right,” By nodded in agreement. “But if you manage to tough it out long enough to become a standard fighter, it gets easier. So once Raphael became one, it was easier for us to actually know where it was going to be instead of wandering around the city hoping for treats.”</p><p>At that moment, there’s a rustle in the bushes. Claude tenses, looking to the side and his hand going to reach a dagger he didn’t have, his mind running-</p><p>-except it’s only Sothis, stalking out from the bushes. Claude relaxes and lets out a silent sigh of relief.</p><p>“Say, By, I have a little question for you, if you don’t mind,” Lorenz started as the cat trods over to By, leaving tiny footprints in the snow. Claude distantly wonders if the cat is cold, with nothing but a layer of fur to protect it from the chilly night air.</p><p>“Shoot,” By said, not looking up from her own plate, where she’s digging into her food. His train of thought switches to how, once they get back to society, he and Lorenz may have to teach her how to eat like a noble.</p><p>“How much do you know about the old royalty and the events that caused the slaughter?” Lorenz queried, tilting his head to the side, and Claude looked from him to By, who looked up at Lorenz. Sothis, meanwhile, jumped up onto her shoulders, curling around her neck. A spike of envy went through him - how come she gets two scarves, one made of cat, while he’s here freezing his ass off?</p><p>“Mm.. Not much, to be honest,” By said after a moment, looking down at the ground again. “The tutors at the orphanage didn’t teach it, and the other kids didn’t talk about it - you know how the Agarthans are about knowledge control.” Her hand reached up to scratch behind Sothis’ ears. “Most of what I know comes from whispers and rumors, nothing with a valid source, but I think it has something to do with an age-old dispute, but there were other factors there, too.”</p><p>Lorenz nodded. “Yes. I can give you a quick rundown tonight, but we’ll go more in-depth as we travel. As the successor to the Church, you’ll need to know this.”</p><p>By seemed to frown, just a little, the expression minute - the barest furrow of her eyebrows and downturn of her lips, before it went back to its normal, stony façade, and she nodded. “Okay.”</p><p>“Alright. I’ll start from the beginning, with the age-old dispute you mentioned. Basically, a long time ago, the Agarthans and the Nabateans - that’s our ancestors - lived together, but a war broke out between them over power and technology. The Nabateans won, and the Agarthans didn’t. Instead, they had retreated underground, metaphorically and literally.”</p><p>By blinked, once. “How so?”</p><p>“Well, apparently, they carved out a huge space underground somewhere between what used to be Goneril territory and the Fódlan’s throat, but no one can seem to prove its existence.”</p><p>Lorenz waved a hand through the air.</p><p>“But more on that later. After the battle, while the Agarthans withdrew, the Goddess at the time had to use her power to heal the land. However, it was a strenuous endeavor, sapping most of her strength and she fell into a deep slumber at the Red Canyon, just outside Garreg Mach.”</p><p>That’s where Claude jumped in - he’d always been fascinated by the story of Nemesis and his battle against the Nabateans, and it was one of the only three things that really fascinated him about Fódlan (the other two were the Crests and the Relics, and any stories to do with those).</p><p>“Anyways, about a thousand or so years ago, there was this bandit named Nemesis, who killed the Goddess and many of her children in the Red Canyon slaughter, and only five of the children survived,” Claude explained, pointing at By. “At first, it was thought that he had become corrupted by the power of the Crest given to him by the Goddess. Later, though it then it was revealed he was actually hired by the Agarthans. An act of revenge against the war, you could say.</p><p>“The Agarthans even used the bones and hearts of the slaughtered Nabetans to create really powerful weapons known as the Hero’s Relics, many of which are now held by the descendants of those Nabateans, although some have been lost to time. Lorenz’s House Relic, for example, is Thyrsus, a magic staff. King Dimitri has the Arheadbar lance, Empress Edelgard has the Amyr ax, and the Reigan line could use the legendary bow Failnaught. You following?” Not that he had ever seen the bow in his childhood, interesting as it seemed. </p><p>By nodded, and Lorenz took that as his cue to keep talking. He leaned forward, picking up the stick By had discarded and stoked the fire again, absentmindedly wondering if he should go and get some more sticks to keep it going.</p><p>“Afterwards, the survivors of the slaughter sought revenge against Nemesis and his companions,” he said, holding up his hand and spreading out his fingers. “Saint Serios gathered a bunch of people on their side, and even gave her Crest to the first leader of Adrestia. The Crests, by the way, are what allow the nobles to use the Relics, and as such, noble families endeavor to have Crest-bearing kids to use the weapons.</p><p>“The war went on for a couple hundred years, since Saint Serios, the other children, and Nemesis were all given expanded life spans due to their Crests and connection with the Goddess. Eventually, the war ended, at the Taltien Plains in Faerghus. There, Serios killed Nemesis.”</p><p>A frown crossed By’s face. “What does that have to do with the slaughter?”</p><p>“It’s backstory, Your Grace” Claude said in a mock tone as he leaned back against the tree he was leaning on. By glared. Claude winked.</p><p>“I’ll skip over the parts of how Faerghus and Leicester were founded - I’d expect you to know that,” Lorenz continued. “What you need to know is that the Sitri Eisner, Byleth’s mother, was a descendent of Saint Serios, like her mother, Rhea, who was the Archbishop of the Church at the time, making Sitri the next successor. She fell in love with a knight named Jeralt Eisner, who had the Crest of Flames. The two of them met at a banquet, fell in love, and got married.”</p><p>Lorenz paused to eat, and a sharp wind blew across them as he did so. Claude shivered, pulling his hat further down his head.</p><p>“A year after their marriage, the two had two twin babies - Byleth and Beres. Byleth was the girl, as you well know, and Beres was the boy, with both of them bearing the Crest of Serios,” Lorenz continued. “During that time, the Agarthans were enacting another plan - placing spies in the Alliance, Empire, and Kingdom. Four spies were sent out, killing or kidnapping certain people and replacing them with members from their group. In the Kingdom, a woman named Cornelia, who was healer, was replaced with a woman of the same name, and Monica, a student at the Officer’s Academy in Garreg Mach who had disappeared the year prior-”</p><p>“-and in the Alliance, a librarian named Tomas. Cornelia and Monica both had personality shifts, but no one suspected Tomas until the last second.” Learning that Tomas, the librarian who had always been kind to him even despite his heritage, who gave him a safe space to go in his first few months in Derdriu, was a traitor, had hurt.</p><p>“Hang on,” By interrupted, looking between the two of them. “If they were replaced, how come no one noticed?”</p><p>Claude grinned and held up a finger. “Ah, that’s the thing - no one really knew, because the Agarthans used magic to make them look like the person they were impersonating. Kronya, the girl who replaced Monica, actually had orange hair instead of red.”</p><p>“There was also another person involved in the slaughter - the ringleader, Thales,” Lorenz added on. “He also went by the name Lord Arundel, and he was the uncle to Empress Edelgard of Adrestia and Crown Prince Dimitri of Faerghus, the latter after the Insurrection of the Seven and his sister subsequently marrying the late King Lambert. But after the Insurrection, he was investigated by the Church and found out to be a part of the Agarthans. Rhea ordered his death, but he escaped.”</p><p>“A year later, Kronya, as Monica, attempted to end Captain Jeralt’s life by her own hand, but that was discovered pretty quickly, and he was spared. It also turns out she poisoned Duke Reigan, rendering him very ill,” Claude added on. “She, too, managed to escape, and they weren’t seen again until the slaughter. Between that time, Rhea stepped down as Archbishop and handed the title to Sitri, making Byleth Eisner the successor to the title of Archbishop.”</p><p>“Which we all know what happened there,” Lorenz finished with a nod. “Thales, Kronya, and the other Agarthans came seeking to kill Rhea and her family and enact revenge against them for the war so long ago. They decided to attack the palace in Derdriu, for they had been for the past few months. And, since it just so happened to be Duke Reigan’s birthday, nobles from all over Fódlan were there. During that time, Tomas revealed himself as a traitor. After, they took over the Alliance, and since then, the Alliance has been teetering on the brink of war between the Kingdom and the Empire ever since. Why neither side has attacked yet, I don’t know.” He shook his head.</p><p>“What about Cornelia?” By asked, frowning. “It doesn’t seem like she was involved in the slaughter, not directly. How did people find it out?”</p><p>“Have you heard of the Tragedy of Duscur?” Claude asked, frowning. By shook her head. Huh, surprising. Most people, even in the Alliance and the Empire, had heard of it. “Well, to put it simply, King Lambert of Faerghus and most of the royal family, aside from his brother and the Crown Prince Dimitri, were slaughtered just a few years ago. The brother responded by placing the blame on the Duscurians, and then proceeded to commit a massacre against them. Few survived.”</p><p>“But the Crown Prince took the crown away from the brother, and became king ten months ago,” Lorenz added on with a nod. “He did an investigation that lasted for another six months, and only recently discovered that Cornelia had a part in the plan, but no one knew who masterminded it. We only know that it wasn’t the Duscurians. But the damage was done, and the two of them had escaped back to the Alliance. Since then, tensions between the Kingdom and the Alliance have been at a record high.”</p><p>“That’s probably why the Agarthans want to kill Byleth Eisner,” Claude said. Sothis hopped down from By’s shoulders and padded over to Lorenz, who reached a hand out and scratched her ears. “If she makes it to Enbarr alive, then even the chance that she’ll come back and take the Alliance back from the Agarthans is enough to give the denizens here hope. If they decided to rebel in hopes of getting her back on the throne, and the Kingdom and the Empire both agree to start a war against the Agarthans, even they can’t repel the combined forces of the three, no matter how good their technology is.”</p><p>“But Captain Jeralt is alive,” By said. “So why isn’t he leading the Church, or even trying to free the Alliance? Why is it any different if either of them take over the throne, that Lady Byleth may be alive while Captain Jeralt has been alive for twelve years?”</p><p>Claude sighed and shrugged. “I really don’t know. If I had to guess, I think it’s because Jeralt never wanted to be the Archbishop, or that he’s not technically a member of Alliance Nobility. Plus, after the death of his family, he sat in a heavy depression for a few years afterwards, and didn’t bother trying to reclaim anything or fight anyone as he mourned. By the time he pulled himself out of it, the Agarthans had been reigning the Alliance for four years, and while he does some duties as a member of the Church and the position his wife had been in, the people had lost a lot of hope for him as a leader, that he hadn’t come to try and do anything to help them earlier. Plus, he may have had the Crest of Serios, but many of the Alliance nobles died during the slaughter as collateral damage.”</p><p>He hadn't, but... It’s not like many people in Leicester would want a half-breed Almyran as their leader. He'd been a kid when the slaughter happened, and now, twelve years later, there was no seat for him to claim, no inheritance for him to get, even if he did have the Crest of Reigan. Plus, he knows next-to-nothing about running a country, and he can't exactly wage a war against the Agarthans even if he wanted to. </p><p>“However, if Byleth Eisner is miraculously alive after twelve years of being dead, and old enough to take the throne, then it means there’s hope that ‘hey, maybe she’ll do something to help us instead’, and that gives hope to people and makes them more likely to rebel, nevermind the fact people don’t question what she’s been doing for twelve years or that she isn’t part of Alliance nobility.” He shook his head. “People are weird like that. A little bit of hope can change the perspective of an entire group of people.”</p><p>By gave a mirthless laugh. “Well, if I really am as important like you claim, I think amnesia would explain it.”</p><p>Night had long fallen by that point, the sun saying goodbye and dropping down below the horizon, and the stars had come out to shine in all their glory. And far away from the lights of Derdriu, there were more crammed about in the sky and forming constellations of all types. Byleth’s voice echoes distantly in his ear, and in his mind’s eye, he could picture her showing him all the constellations in the sky.</p><p>There was the North Star that helped travelers with directions and had even saved Claude once as a kid, when he got lost in the woods while playing as a child. There was the Warrior of Al Jafer, who defended Almyra against invaders from a country to the south a long time ago, and the Golden Deer, the one Byleth had shown him on the night of the slaughter, and many more.</p><p>Twelve years later, and he had a favorite - the Golden Deer. His tribute to Byleth.</p><p>“You guys should get some sleep,” Claude said absentmindedly, gaze still fixated on the starry sky above them, his heart aching. “I’ll keep the first watch and I’ll wake By at around midnight.” He smirked at Lorenz, even if he couldn’t pull his gaze away from the stars. “I know how much nobles need their beauty sleep.”</p><p>Lorenz sighed. “You are insufferable.”</p><p>“I love you too, Lorenz,” Claude said mockingly. By snickered.</p><p>“Thank you, Claude,” By replied instead.</p><p>“No problem, Your Grace.”</p><p>Out of the corner of his eye, he could see By shift. “You don’t- need to call me that,” she said, voice sounding small. “It… feels odd. I don’t… I don’t think I like it. Sounds… stuffy.”</p><p>“Well, if you are Byleth Eisner, you’re going to have to get used to that,” Lorenz said. Claude nodded in agreement.</p><p>“Yeah. Most people trip over themselves in politeness when they’re talking to anyone of high status, especially royalty.” He’s seen that a few times himself when he was working at the palace. “May as well get used to it now.”</p><p>By hummed, but didn’t say anything else. There was the shuffling of clothing and bags as the other two grabbed their blankets, and Claude wrinkled his nose a little bit when By scooted a bit closer to him. But it was winter in Derdriu, there was snow on the ground and the night promised a chill, and he supposed that huddling together would help conserve heat, so Claude reluctantly allowed it, even if he’s done it with Lorenz a few times before, when they were both cold and desperate and determined to survive.</p><p>With that in mind, Claude absentmindedly wrapped an arm around By’s shoulders, hoping that damn cat of hers didn’t try anything. By stiffened for a moment, and Claude briefly wondered if he had overstepped and pulled back, but before he could, she scooted a bit closer to him, resting her head on his side.</p><p>“Thanks,” She mumbled, quietly, her voice muffled by the blanket she’d pulled up to her mouth. Claude hummed in response, watching Sothis warily, but if she was offended by his closeness to By, she didn’t do anything about it, just licking her paw.</p><p>Lorenz was giving him a Look, that smug one he had whenever he was right about something. For a moment, Claude was confused about where it had come from, but then the conversation he had with Lorenz earlier on the train popped into his mind. About him crushing on By, and the pieces fell into place.</p><p>After he glanced down at By to make sure her eyes were closed, Claude looked back up at Lorenz and glared at him, flipping him the bird and ignoring the way Sothis was now pointedly staring at him.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sothis: *Staring*<br/>Claude: Stop Snitchin’ Motherfucker</p><p>I’m just gonna say that between Rhea not being Serios and unable to doctor almost every detail about the Church's past and the Agarthans' love of knowledge and hatred of the Church, information about Fodlan's past is much more widely accessible. Like I said in the tags, I'm playing around a bit with canon FE3H lore to make this work, so just roll with it here.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. royals of derdriu</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Lorenz and Claude go over all the important people in the former Leicester aristocracy. By recalls a few fleeting memories.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A bit more exposition, sorry ^^; but it’s a long chapter, so i hope you enjoy nonetheless</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>By</p><p>As they walked along the train tracks to Garreg Mach, a routine formed between the three of them. They would wake in the morning as the sun rose, have a small snack, then walk following the train tracks until the sun was up high. They’d eat some more during an hour or so break, then they’d get to walking again until about an hour after the sun would dip below the horizon and make camp, each getting different watches of about three hours each. Lorenz would have the first one, then Claude, and then By, and the routine would continue.</p><p>About three days in, when the three of them had stumbled upon what looked to be a recent battleground of sorts, By managed to get her hands on a rifle laying on the ground with a few rounds left in it and a box of ammo on the ground nearby. By hadn’t want to bring it, but Claude seemed to have some knowledge on it, and with their provisions only lasting so long, By and Lorenz had left it to him in case they ever needed to hunt.</p><p>Fódlan was bigger than By had previously thought - she thought it would only take two or so days to get from where they’d stopped to get to Garreg Mach. Instead, according to Claude's disappointment, they still had a week or so of walking to go. Apparently, By hadn’t counted for how much trains were faster than feet.</p><p>But that was fine. She could handle the walking, and she could handle the cold, especially since the nights got slightly warmer as they traveled southwest to Garreg Mach and the snowfall was lighter, and it would probably only get warmer the further down south they got. Sure, there was the mountain range that Garreg Mach had been placed in - and consequently higher altitudes - to contend with, but they’d eventually get used to that, too.</p><p>Really, what By hated was the boredom.</p><p>Back at the orphanage, By was always doing something - fishing in the ocean, training with Leonie and Raphael, painting with Ignatz, reading a book about legends with Ashe, and later on, doing jobs in and around Derdriu. But while walking, By couldn’t do anything but talk. And while By had never ran away from a conversation, she’d often found it hard to initiate and hold one growing up, especially with people her age that she knew for ages and had no new stories to tell them.</p><p>Sure, she could share them with Claude and Lorenz, but speaking had never been her forte - she just wasn’t good at telling stories the way Ashe and Ignatz did, adding in small, unnecessary details to paint a more detailed picture that bring it to life, or Dorothea, with a tone that commanded the presence of everyone in the area, or Leonie, with her natural ability to get the tone just right so everyone is falling out of their seats laughing or wiping tears from their eyes or sitting at the edge of their seat, waiting for more. But when By tried to tell stories, it just… fell flat. She just couldn’t gesticulate or change her tone with the grace and details that the others had and captivate people when she told her stories.</p><p>Claude and Lorenz, though, seemed to have the same grace as the other kids at the orphanage had. While Lorenz was a little lacking in the passion the others had when he told her stories of his and Claude’s days, Claude picked it up, bouncing off him beautifully and occasionally ribbed at him and vice versa.</p><p>With each story, By got the sense that Claude was what By originally pegged him as - a troublemaker, always getting into… well, trouble, and situations that Lorenz had to bail him out of. But he only seemed to be a troublemaker in that sense (with the exception of the few times he’s poisoned Lorenz’s tea, at first to see if he was trustworthy and then later on for laughs) and other people that deserved it. Assholes and the Agarthans, mostly. Otherwise, though, from what Lorenz has said, Claude actually seems very respectful to other people, and only uses his schemes for good.</p><p>
  <em>(She’s too busy picking up Sothis to notice the Look Lorenz had on his face).</em>
</p><p>The conversations stayed fairly light, never delving into anything from before the slaughter, and as much as By was curious about their lives before it, they both had different looks on their faces the one time she brought it up - Lorenz of mournfulness, and Claude of… anger, almost, but with the tiniest splash of wistfulness hidden behind the mischievous gleam of his eyes. So she leaves it alone.</p><p>Eventually, when the two run out of stories to tell her, it switches over to information - a lot of it. According to Lorenz and Claude, she may look like Byleth Eisner, but with the reward money being what it is, there might be other, fake Byleth’s trying to get the reward, and she’ll need to know everything about her old life to convince the Captain she is Byleth.</p><p>And that… that gives her pause.</p><p>Up until now, she’d been operating on the fact that they believed she was Byleth Eisner, that all she’d have to do was show up, talk to the king, and he’d determine whether or not she was Byleth. But from the way they were speaking… it sounded like they wanted her to lie. Or… prove she was the missing Eisner, or something along those lines.</p><p>“Wait… You want me to lie to him?” By asked, pausing on a small bridge they were passing, the stone warm enough to set her hands on. The weather had only been getting warmer as they traveled down south, and the snow piles were few; she was even able to take off her overcoat. “To the Captain?”</p><p>“Well, it’s not - it’s not a lie,” Claude started to stammer, pausing in his walk, and he turned around to face her, braid swinging and nearly hitting him in the eye. “It’s not - we’re not lying. We’re proving that you are, in fact, the missing Eisner.”</p><p>By frowned. That, too, sounded suspiciously like a lie.</p><p>She looks down and fiddles with the necklace, turning it between her fingers, a sour taste forming on her tongue. “I don’t - I don’t think I can lie to the Captain. Not about… about this. That I’m his daughter - the daughter he’s believed to be dead for over a decade.” The fancy blue script stares up at her, the words almost mocking.</p><p>“Now, you don’t know if it’s a lie, By,” Claude protested, walking over to her. “What if it really is true? It may be another stop on the road to finding out who you are, but at least this way, you can be sure. Plus, with your amnesia, you aren’t able to prove you are Lady Byleth - this knowledge can help you.”</p><p>By frowned. “From the sound of it, because my memory is a blank slate, you’re using it to put down everything about Byleth Eisner so I can lie and convince the Captain his daughter is alive.”</p><p>She was too busy looking at her necklace to notice the look of panic that had crossed Claude’s face. Lorenz, however, had, and stepped in.</p><p>“That’s not true,” Lorenz said, walking over to her and joining her by the wall of the bridge. “It’s true that you don’t know your memories. But we aren’t teaching this to you so you can deceive the Captain - with your memories missing, you’re going to have to learn - or, rather, relearn - how to do all this one day. Besides, this will help us gain audience to the king.”</p><p>She looked up at Lorenz. “How so?”</p><p>Lorenz sighed, but a wistful smile appeared on his face, and he closed his eyes, leaning forward. He rested his elbows on the wall and propped his head up in his hands. Sothis hopped up on the wall, heabutting Lorenz’s hands, and the former noble obliged her with a scratch behind her ears.</p><p>“Because, anyone who sees the Captain has to go through my dear Hilda, a fashion designer for Empress Edelgard and other nobility in Enbarr, and Alois, Captain Jeralt’s right-hand man and the Head Knight of the remains of the Church forces that reside there. In order to get an audience with Captain Jeralt, we have to convince those two you are the princess - it would help if you knew the skills and backstory and family of Lady Eisner.”</p><p>Licking her lips, By looked down at her necklace again, then further down, at the water below. Her reflection rippled in the soft blue water, distorting her face-</p><p>
  <em>“Look at the water, By!” A feminine voice said, and there was a pale hand pointing out at a large body of water - the Derdriu sea, she realized after a minute. “It’s so clear! Perfect for fishing, isn’t it?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The green-haired girl By had seen earlier was pulling By along a sandy beach, and she could feel the warmth of it and the sun on her feet, her skin. Ocean waves crashed against the shore, a familiar tune.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Then the sand turned cold, and wet, as she was dragged out into the shallows of the ocean, and the sand turned to smooth, slippery stones that made her slip and fall to her knees. Ocean water clung to her skin, but the fall didn’t hurt much. When she looks down, she can see her reflection in the water - short blue hair pulled back in a tiny ponytail and bangs swept away from her blue eyes, a black bathing suit on. Two earrings dangle from the lobes of her ears, along with a gold necklace with a silver ring on it-</em>
</p><p>-she blinks, and the image - the memory - is gone.</p><p>It was unexpected, and it caught By off guard. But since she doesn’t see the girl’s face, it doesn’t seem to explain much other than where her like of fishing came from. She shakes her head, watching a leaf drifting down the water.</p><p>“Maybe you're right, but… Look at me; there’s nothing about me that screams royalty, or princess or queen or lady,” By says to Claude, gesturing at herself. Her manners are as bad as Sothis’</p><p>Looking up from the water, By casts her gaze towards the north, where Derdriu is. It’s not too late to go back yet - food will be a trouble to deal with, but she can still go back to Derdriu, back to Cyril and Ashe and the others. It may not be the home she’s looking for, but it’s… familiar. She knows the people there, the place, the culture. She’s not sure if she could even find her family or Leonir or Ignatz or Raphael in Enbarr, but she knows where to find the orphanage, the library that lets her take home books, the restaurant with the best fish in the city she only goes to on special occasions because it’s so expensive.</p><p>The longing opens up a hole in her chest.</p><p>Claude seems to notice this, and walks up to By’s other side, tapping her on the back. She looks at him, and there’s a seriousness to his expression she hadn’t yet seen before.</p><p>“Tell me, By,” Claude said, gesturing to the water and their reflections, nearly hitting Sothis, who yowls at him. “What do you see?”</p><p>By scoffs. “An amnesiac orphan with no past and no future.” That’s all she’s ever been.</p><p>Claude huffs, and smirks. “Well, what I see is a fiery young woman with a natural talent for commanding that’s equal to all the royals I knew from yonder days.”</p><p>“And I wholeheartedly agree,” Lorenz adds on, smiling. “Growing up as a noble myself, I’ve seen my fair share of royalty, and you certainly have the command of one - the command that Captain Jeralt had on the battlefield in his youth.”</p><p>Claude nudged her, and when she met his gaze, he winked. “So, By, are you ready to become Princess Byleth?”</p><p>Looking down at the water, By frowned, tapping her foot on the ground, then towards Derdriu again. “I… I’m not sure. I’m not sure being royalty is for me.” Would it just be easier going back to Derdriu?</p><p>Lorenz seemed to notice her skepticism, and put an arm around her shoulders. Sothis hissed at him, but he was nonplussed. “There’s nothing left in Derdriu, By,” he said, sweeping a hand out towards the ocean. “Besides, even if you do decide to go back, the Agarthans will be looking for you. It’s not safe there anymore, but Enbarr is. Everything is in Enbarr - including my dear Hilda.”</p><p>“Who’s Hilda?” By asked, frowning, an attempt to delay her answer. Claude groaned as Lorenz smiled and hummed.</p><p>“Hilda is a wonderful young lady,” Lorenz said, and she could almost feel the warmth in his voice. Or maybe it’s from Sothis, sitting close to her chest.</p><p>“Lorenz-“</p><p>“A cup of rosé tea after a long winter’s walk in the park-“</p><p>“Lorenz, please-“</p><p>“-a delicious, puffy pastry filled with warm sweetness inside and laughter-“</p><p>“Is this a person or a… cream puff?” By asked, frowning.</p><p>“Oh, no, no, no, my dear,” Lorenz said backing away from the bridge, a hand over his heart. “Hilda is the daughter of the former Duke Goneril-“</p><p>“And Lorenz’s childhood crush,” Claude added on, wrapping his arm around By’s shoulders, much like he’d done that first night out in the woods. If By was being honest, it felt rather nice. It wasn’t the first time someone had done that to her, but with Claude, it felt… nice. Safe. Comforting. “He’s been swooning over her since before the slaughter, and the only girl he might have a shot with.”</p><p>It goes to show how lost Lorenz is in his memories that he doesn’t make a jab back at Claude, too busy picking up a lone flower from the ground.</p><p>“So,” Claude started, turning By gaze towards him instead of Lorenz. “Are you ready to become Lady Byleth Eisner?”</p><p>She doesn’t quite hear the question, though, too busy looking at him. This close to him, By can see the flecks of brown in his eyes, and in the light, they look like amber. Absentmindedly, she wonders if that’s what makes them seem to gleam. They’re very pretty, she decides.</p><p>
  <em>(And familiar. Where has she seen those things before?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>In the back of her mind, a distant memory, no, a feeling, stirs, of a sea of stars and the taste of strawberries, a warm hand on hers.)</em>
</p><p>Wait. Where did those thoughts come from?</p><p>Realizing Claude is waiting for an answer and that, more embarrassing, she was staring, By clears her throat, which is suddenly dry, and looks away from Claude’s gaze.</p><p>“I… I guess,” By replied, even if she doesn’t feel too confident about it. She sighs. “Start your teaching, then.”</p><p>“Great!” Claude says, smiling, and he turns her away from the road that leads to Derdriu to the one leading to Garreg Mach, before he looks over his shoulder. “Lorenz, come on! The sooner we move, the sooner we can get to Enbarr!”</p><p>“Where do we start?” By asked as Lorenz fell into step besides them. There was the soft pad of tiny footsteps hitting the wooden deck, and then Sothis was trailing behind By, running between her legs and almost tripping her. At this point, though, By merely stumbles, then regains her footsteps and keeps walking, matching pace with Claude (who still has an arm around her shoulders) and Lorenz</p><p>“The basics,” Lorenz said. “Stuff that’s easy to remember - we can get into the more complicated stuff later on in our journey, Lady Byleth.”</p><p>By blinked. “Where did that come from?”</p><p>“If you really are Lady Byleth, you’re going to have to get used to that, Your Grace,” Claude said, grinning. By shifted, then shrugged Claude’s arm off her shoulders. “Besides, it’s really just a longer version of your name.”</p><p>Well, when he put it like that, By found it hard to protest, and she nodded.</p><p>“Alright. What else?”</p><p>“You actually were born a few weeks early, and as such, was born at the Reigan Estate when your parents were visiting there, right near the sea,” Lorenz said in a flighty, drawn-out tone. “You learned how to ride a horse when you were six, since your father and mother both loved the animals. Why, Captain Jeralt rode a horse named Epona in his knightly days.”</p><p>“Did I ride him… Or was it a her?”</p><p>“A her, and no - by the time you were born, she was too old to be ridden,” Lorenz said, shaking his head. “However, you did ride on her foal - Xylos. A pure white horse that loved apples.”</p><p>“That’s an… odd name,” By said, frowning, and she tested it out on her tongue. “Xylos.”</p><p>It felt… <em>right.</em></p><p>Claude chuckled. “You also liked to mess with the cooks, apparently both at Garreg Mach and at the Reigan estate,” he said, looking up at the sky. “Lady Byleth was good at sneaking around, and she and her brother would sneak down there sometimes during the night to steal sweets and other food, and scare the cook while you were at it.” He smiles, something warm and soft, but there’s pain in his eyes.</p><p>“But then Captain Jeralt would give you a Look known as the Jeralt’s Glare, and you’d do a complete 180 and start to behave.”</p><p>By frowned. Her, scaring someone? She couldn’t imagine it.</p><p>“And you also loved to fish, too,” Lorenz added on. “When you visited Derdriu, you would go visit the beach there with your father and Alois, one of Rhea’s advisors, Seteth, and his daughter, Flayn, and you and Flayn would have competitions to see who was better.”</p><p>Now <em>that</em> she could believe. It was rare that she had lost one of the many fishing competitions the orphanage would have in the summer.</p><p>At that point, the road was partially blocked by a small, fallen tree trunk, and Lorenz snapped his fingers. “Ah! That tree right there is perfect, yes!”</p><p>“Perfect for what?” Byleth asked, looking at him. Lorenz took hold of her hand and pulled her over to it.</p><p>“As a high-ranking member of the Church, you must learn how to walk properly,” he said, stepping up on the fallen trunk, and he held his arms out like a bird. “Shoulders back like this, and back straight, Byleth.” He squared his shoulders but his posture was already straight, and he started to walk across the tree. At Claude’s nudging, Byleth clambered up onto it as well, straightening her back and squaring her shoulders, like she did before a fight. Lorenz started to talk again. “Try not to walk, but rather float, like you’re an ethereal, saintly being.”</p><p>“And chin up, too. If you’re going to attract attention and command a room, you need to look the part,” Claude added on, tapping her cheek. By glared at him, but did as he said, tilting her head up, and she spread her arms for balance like Lorenz had.</p><p>Slowly, she started to walk across the tree, trying to match the footsteps Lorenz took without looking down at her feet. By wobbled a bit at first, but managed to make it across with no real incidents, even if she was feeling much like a fool.</p><p>“Am I floating? It doesn’t feel like I’m floating - I feel like a fool.”</p><p>“You are floating like the Goddess,” Lorenz said, smiling, and when she reached the end, he helped her down from the tree. “Next is bowing and curtsying. Normally, men are the ones bowing and the woman curtsying, and how deep you should bow or curtsy depends on how important the person is. The more important you are, the deeper you bow. For example, for someone of your status, I would do a ninety-degree bow, like this-” He bowed, deeply, placing his hand over his chest. “You would do the same with Emperor Edelgard King Dimitri, or - if he were alive - Duke Reigan. But if I were to meet with someone like Lord Acheron, I just do a simple bow, like this.” The next bow is more simple, not as deep.</p><p>“And then afterwards, many will press a kiss to your hands,” Claude said, stepping around her and grabbing her hand, before he lifts it up and presses a gentle kiss to her knuckles. By feels her heart flutter, and she pulls her hand away, and Claude takes a quick step back, glancing away.</p><p>“You should probably also learn the names of your family, and the other nobles of not only Liecester, but Faerghus and Adrestia, too,” Lorenz said. “You already know this, but your name is Byleth Eisner, and your parents are Jeralt Reus Eisner and Sitri Grace Eisner - she took his last name.”</p><p>“Your mother, Sitri Eisner, was the daughter to Rhea Seri, a descendent of Saint Serios, and both of them bore the Crest of Serios. Rhea was the Archbishop, the leader of the Church, making your mother the successor. When Sitri met your father, she was in training to take over the mantle. However, she was frail of health, and it made it hard for her to leave Garreg Mach monastery, but she traveled to Derdriu quite often in the winter months. Your father, Jeralt Eisner, was a part of the Knights of Serios at Garreg Mach, and he was originally born in the kingdom, coming to work with the knights early on in life. That’s where he met Sitri. The two of them fell quickly in love, and got married a year later, making Archbishop Rhea your grandmother.”</p><p>“A year after that, Byleth and Beres were born,” Claude said, not giving By any time to absorb the information. “The two of them were twins, but Byleth was born just a few minutes earlier, making her the de-facto sucessor to the Church after your mother. Both of them had the Crest of Serios. Got it?”</p><p>“Um-”</p><p>Lorenz continued, not skipping a beat and missing the fact Byleth was starting to become a little lost. “Next up, in the Alliance is the Five Great Lords. First off, there was Duke Godfrey Reigan, the leader of the Alliance. His wife had died a while back, but he had two children - Oswald von Reigan, his eldest, who had the Crest of Reigan, and Tiana von Reigan, his daughter, who didn’t. They could weild the legendary bow Failnaught. Oswald had never gotten married, but Tiana... did, to an Almyran named Seyed Naaji. The two of them ran off to Almyra for a few years, even bearing a child named Khalid. But after Oswald fell ill from being poisoned by Kronya, Godfrey managed to convince Tiana to come back, after they found out Khalid had the Creat of Reigan.”</p><p>It was only because By’s mind was wandering did she see the subtle shift in Claude’s posture, his jaw tight, lips pressed into a thin line and eyes narrowed, gleaming darkly. She frowned at him, but Claude was looking away, and didn't seem to notice her. </p><p>“Immediately in status after Duke Reigan was my father, Count Gloucester, and we bear the Crest of Gloucester.” He held his arm and hand flat out in front of him, palm facing upwards towards the sky. A moment later, a small symbol appeared over his hand, in purple, shimmering lines that seemed to spark. Was that the Crest Lorenz talked about? It stayed there for a few minutes, then fizzled out, and Lorenz kept speaking. “If the Reigan line were to die out, we were the ones set to become the next Duke and ‘lead’ the country. Our Relic was Thyrsus, a magic staff.</p><p>“Then there was the Goneril family, lead by Duke Goneril, Hilda’s father, and they’re situated in the far east, next to Fodlan’s Locket. They held the Crest of Goneril and they held the Freikugel axe, and used that to defend the border against attacks from the Almyrans, east of the Locket. Goneril's eldest son, Lord Holst, was the one who defended the border. Hilda was a close friend of the Princess, and loved arts and crafts and beauty - you following?”</p><p>By tried valiantly to take in all this information, but it was just… a lot. And it was all by ear, too - she had always been much better at learning visually. But unbeknownst to By’s struggle to follow the information thrown at her, Claude picked up where Lorenz left off.</p><p>“Then there’s Count Ordelia,” he continued. “She was the youngest heir of the Five Great Lords, and always hated being treated like such, but I know a lot of other people teased her for it. Nevermind the fact she was, like, a genius, even at her young age, and showed an aptitude for reason magic. But you, Princess Byleth, treated her like an adult. She had a minor Crest of Charon, and can wield the sword Thunderbrand.” He pointed a finger at her, then chuckled. “But she had a major sweet tooth, and whenever she was visiting the palace, she would sneak down to the kitchen at night to get cakes and cupcakes and other various sweets.”</p><p>“And she liked chocolate cake the best.”</p><p>By wasn’t sure where that fact came from, how she knew it - she just… <em>did</em>. It came to her, unbidden, easily ripping through the fog in her mind unlike many of the bits and pieces of her past she tried to remember.</p><p>“I… yes, she did,” Claude said, and there was a certain hint of awe in his voice. Out of the corner of By’s eye, he saw him glance at Lorenz, a stunned expression on his face, and Lorenz had one of confusion. After a moment, he looked back at her. “How’d you know?”</p><p>By opened her mouth to reply, but… she just couldn’t place where she knew it. She just… <em>did</em>, like she knew how the sky was blue and water was wet. So, she closed it and shrugged.</p><p>“I… I just do.”</p><p>“Huh,” Claude vocalized, and he frowned, his lips pursed and brows furrowing together. “You must’ve heard it somewhere.”</p><p>By didn’t think she had - no one had really talked about the old royalty for fear of retribution - but it was the best answer she had, so she nodded.</p><p>“The last of the Five Great Lords is Margrave Edmund,” Lorenz continued, any previous confusion or bafflement gone. “Margrave Edmund was the newest member when the slaughter happened, had an adoptive daughter named Marianne, and their family had a Crest of Maruice, but it was also known as the Crest of Beast - rumour had it was that promised a curse to anyone who bore it, and it was these rumors that made the others believe that Marianne’s parents were killed by it. Since Margrave Edmund was a distant relative of her parents and they bore the same Crest, Marianne became his adoptive daughter. Because of this, Marianne was really quiet and withdrawn from the rest of the other heirs, like myself and Hilda, but it was believed she had a childhood crush on Dimitri. She loved animals, and had a horse named Dorte, and was very religious, praying to the Goddess every day, and seemed to have an early skill in healing magic.”</p><p>“There are a few other lords and ladies in Leicester, but the Five Great Lords are the ones that you should know the most about,” Claude said. “They made up most of the old Leicester Royalty, and all of their heirs had a connection of some sort with Byleth or Beres or her parents - as such, they were closely affiliated with the Alliance."</p><p>“Oh, and you should probably learn a bit about the Church and its members, too,” Lorenz piped up. “To start with, there was Seteth, Lady Rhea’s advisor and a descendent of Saint Cichol and had the Crest to go with it, and he had green hair and was very proper, and loved fishing. A strict person, but he had good intentions.”</p><p>“Then he had a daughter, Flayn,” Claude added, tapping his finger on his chin. By nodded, pulling her hat further down his head. “She was close friends with the Eisner twins, practically a third sister to them, had the Crest of Cethleann. She was very curious about anything and everything, and she loved fishing as well, and when visiting Derdriu, the three of them would head out to the ocean to fish-”</p><p>“-you already told me that,” By interrupted.</p><p>“Right, right.” Claude waved a hand through the air. “Okay, then there’s Alois, a Captain just like Jeralt, and he became the head of the army after Jeralt became Duke. He was Captain Jeralt’s right hand man and the closest thing he had to a best friend. He also liked fishing, and was really cheery and jovial, bringing a certain energy to room, and he was kind to everyone-” An odd, somber expression appeared on his face for a moment, before disappearing- “but made the most horrible puns.”</p><p>“There was also Catherine, a knight like Alois,” Lorenz said. “She, too, had a Crest of Charon, was good friends with Lady Rhea, and wielded the ancient Relic Thunderbrand, and hailed from the Kingdom - a gifted warrior known for mowing down her enemies, giving her the name Thunderstrike Cassandra. Catherine had a partner named Shamir, a mercenary who hailed from Dagda. The silent, quiet type who could definitely kill you with a single look.</p><p>“Last but not least, we have Hanneman and Manuela - Hanneman was a Crest scholar who hailed from the Kingdom, and he had the Crest of Indech. A little odd, but very dedicated to his research, and he was also a teacher at the Officer’s Academy in Garreg Mach. Then we have Manuela, a songstress-turned-healer who worked at the Church. She was a teacher there, like Hanneman, and they fought a lot. She was always looking for love, and apparently, always drunk - she loved her vodka. Did you get all that?”</p><p>By frowned, looking down at Sothis. “I… I think so.”</p><p>Claude nodded. “Alright - try to go through it, then. The earlier you learn this, the better prepared you’ll be.”</p><p>She nodded, flitting through the names and descriptions the two boys gave to her. “Okay… my father is Jeralt Reus Eisner, and he was a descendent of Serios-”</p><p>“No, Sitri was the descendent of Serios,” Lorenz interrupted. “Jeralt just a normal knight who somehow had the Crest of Serios.”</p><p>“My father was a knight with a Crest of Serios, and my mother was a descendent <em>of</em> Serios… both of them had the Crest of Serios,” By amended, pursing her lips together. “Rhea was my grandmother on my mom’s side, also had the Crest of Serios, and an advisor named Catherine-”</p><p>“Catherine was a knight, actually,” Claude corrected. “Seteth was the advisor, and he-”</p><p>“-had a daughter named Flayn,” By repeated. “Seteth was the descendent of Saint… Cethleann?”</p><p>“Cichol,” Lorenz said. By frowned, frustration bubbling up in her chest.</p><p>She sighed, and tried again. “Okay… Seteth was the advisor to Lady Rhea, and had a daughter named Flayn. Catherine was a knight, and had a partner named Shan… no, Shamir, right?” Lorenz nodded, and By clenched her fist. “Then… Shamir was a mercenary, and she argued a lot with Hanneman-”</p><p>“Manuela was the one who argued with Hanneman,” Claude reminded, and that frustration turned into a stab of annoyance. Sucking in a breath through her nose, she let it out through clenched teeth and continued.</p><p>“Manuela argued with Hanneman,” She amended, her voice sharper than she meant it to be, and By forced her next words to come out smoother. “Manuela was a songstress and a teacher and a healer, and Hanneman was a Crest scholar and drank a lot-”</p><p>“No, Manuela was the one who drank a lot.”</p><p>By grit her teeth, letting out a low growl in the back of her throat. This was just - too much. She knew the basics of the lords and old nobility, of course, but not - nothing like this. She had never learned it, and she had just learned it and now they were testing her and she kept getting things in her memory mixed up like whether Ignatz’s favorite color was blue or orange and-</p><p>Claude, at least, now seemed to sense her frustration, his pace on the snowy road slowing. “Hey, you don’t have to know all of this by tonight, By,” He said, his voice measured. “It’ll take us at least a week and a half to get to Enbarr - we can afford to take this a little slow.”</p><p>Sothis, who had seemed to sense her annoyance, jumped up on By’s shoulders, her claws digging through her shirt into her skin, and By grimaced, but let it be.</p><p>“I suppose it’s different for you, not growing up knowing this like I did,” Lorenz hummed, running a hand through his hair. “I’ve been taught this stuff since I was a lad, and I knew most of the other heirs and their parents, but I assume you’re not used to it.”</p><p>Claude nodded, rubbing the back of his neck as he tilted his head. “Yeah, and although I didn’t work in the palace for long, I spent enough time around the others to pick up a few things. Plus, knowledge was the key to survival for me…”</p><p>By furrowed her brow, staring at him, ignoring the way Sothis was headbutting her in the cheek and almost getting hair in her mouth, her head being turned to face Claude better and thus making her mouth more accessible to Sothis’ head. “How so?”</p><p>“It’s complicated,” Claude said in a flat tone, looking away from her gaze to the woods they were traveling through, but she could see the tightness of his jaw. “Let’s start over, and go over it more slowly this time.”</p><p>It was an obvious change in subject, but Claude clearly didn’t want to talk about it, and By - Byleth, Byleth - needed to know this, so she nodded. “Alright. That sounds…” Not better - it still seemed like a lot of information, but… “manageable.”</p><p>“Okay. Starting with your parents, their names were Jeralt and Sitri,” Claude said, before he frowned. “Actually, do you know what they looked like?”</p><p>Byleth frowned, trying to recall the details of the painting she saw at the palace in Derdriu. “Jeralt had… blonde hair, pulled back in a tiny braid, and… and a small x-shaped scar was on his right - no, his left cheek. And Sitri had long blue hair and blue eyes like I did, and often wore a white dress.”</p><p>Lorenz nodded. “Yes. And her favorite flowers were-”</p><p>“Valerians.” The name of the flowers were once more leaving her mouth before she could think about where the hell she knew it from. But she remembered, distantly, a blush pink flower garland that she had made once upon a December, woven together beautifully.</p><p>Claude shot her an odd look. “Yeah. How’d you know that, too?”</p><p>They were both looking at her now, a shared look on their faces that made Byleth’s stomach flip uneasily, especially Claude’s. It’s like they were seeing through her, to the past she couldn’t remember.</p><p>“Maybe I was a gardener before,” Byleth said absentmindedly, looking away from their intense stares, from Claude’s piercing emerald-green eyes. “Or… some kind of servant who worked there.” It was a weak argument, but it would explain how she knew Lysithea’s favorite flavor of cake, the flowers the Duchess loved, those visions she saw at the palace with the dancers. Was she working there when that happened, when the figures were dancing? Was that why she remembered them?</p><p>Claude took a long, long moment to speak. “Maybe,” He said, voice slow, measured, and Byleth didn’t have time to dwell on what that meant before he kept going. “Anyways, Lady Rhea was Sitri Eisner’s mother, and the Archbishop of the church. Sitri was the spitting image of her.”</p><p>By exhaled slowly through her nose. “And Seteth was the advisor… and he had a daughter named Flayn, and the Crest of Cichol.”</p><p>“You got it,” Lorenz said, smiling.</p>
<hr/><p>It took another three days to reach Garreg Mach, but when they finally arrived at the city, Byleth had most everything memorized, and was now far more used to calling herself Byleth instead of By. But before they had made it inside the walled city, safe from the Agartans’ clutches over Leicester, Lorenz pulled her to the side.</p><p>“Now, one thing before we enter,” he started, a frown on his face. “There is a chance we may encounter some people who knew Princess Byleth as a child. If that does so happen, do you remember your introduction? We can use your amnesia to cover up why you were gone for so long, but it’s better to know the basics.”</p><p>Byleth nodded. “I do. I am Lady Byleth Eisner, daughter of Captain Jeralt Reus Eisner and Lady Sitri Eisner, the successor to the Church of Serios.”</p><p>“Ah, that was perfect, By!” Claude said with a smile, and he patted her back. “Now, let’s get out of this place! Enbarr awaits.”</p>
<hr/><p>Meanwhile, under glowing electric blue lights in Shamballa, a thirteen-year old reliquary starts to glow.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. interlude i</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Kronya finds out that Thales is alive. As is Byleth Eisner. So she hires an assassin.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This is a bit of a shorter one since the last chapter was 6,000 words, but I hope you enjoy nonetheless!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kronya</p><p>Kronya scowled at the soldiers standing in front of her, listening to their latest reports about their search for the three convicts that escaped the train. As she expected from those dunderheads, there was no luck, and she growled - it’s been four days since they escaped from Solon’s grasp, and yet there was no sign of them.</p><p>Sure, Leicester was big, and the forests between Derdriu and Garreg Mach were huge and unexplored for several years. But they had honing magic - it shouldn’t be this hard to find three people! It didn’t help that Cornelia had heard that Byleth Eisner may be alive, and now he was dumping three times the work on her than she had before.</p><p>Not surprising - none of the other imbeciles she worked with could do anything. Solon wasn’t good for anything but research and the Death Knight still hadn’t shown up, and Cornelia hadn’t gone out into the field since she was implicated in the Duscur Tragedy.</p><p>And to make matters worse, that damned Relic had started to glow again. Kronya remembered when Lord Thales had it, but he never explained to her where he got it, only that he was possessive over it, never letting anyone else even come near it.</p><p>It was an old, dusty thing, something Kronya hadn’t touched since she first picked it up and brought it to her room for safekeeping after Thales disappeared. In the shape of large purple crystal, with ash grey stone on the top and bottom. Hanging off the top of it was a small chain with a dragon at the end. When Thales had used it, the crystal glowed a bright neon purple like his magic, but since his death, it’s been a deep royal purple.</p><p>Glaring at it, Kronya stomped over the bookcase where it sat, snatching it up-</p><p>A sharp pain snapped through her fingers, like she grabbed a fistful of nails, and then the world went black.</p><hr/><p>What the <em>fuck</em> just happened?</p><p>One minute, she was in her room in Shambala, trying to figure out where the hell that woman and her company from the train went. The next, she was in some dark… what the hell was this? It was just an all-black room, save for a green glow from some light source unknown.</p><p>Growling, Kronya pulled out her dagger, brandishing it in front of her as she twirled, looking for any enemies, this kind of magic unfamiliar to her.</p><p>“Cornelia, if this is a prank, I’m going to castrate your ass!” She yelled out into the darkness, glancing left and right.</p><p>“Is that any way to speak to your superior?”</p><p>A dark, menacing voice cut through the gloom, and Kronya whirled as a figure started to step out from the shadows. When she saw who it was, she faltered, lowering her dagger.</p><p>“Lord Thales?”</p><p>It certainly looked a little like Thales. The structure of the nose, the face shape, even the longer hair was the same. However, his hair is snow-white, as is his beard, and shorter. Dark eyeliner surrounds his eyes, now pure white and missing their pupils.</p><p>A smile crossed his face. “There you go,” he said slowly, his voice an eerie drawl that sent shivers down her spine.</p><p>Gulping, Kronya narrowed her eyes. “What happened to you? How’d you escape? Everyone in the group thinks you’re dead.”</p><p>“Technically, I am,” Thales said. “But I’m also not - I’m somewhere in between, stuck in limbo. In order to kill the Eisners, I sold my soul to gain the last drops of power that I needed to end them and take back the light. Except, my curse remained unfulfilled, and I never figured out why.” He growls, something low and threatening and animal. “Now I know why. Byleth Eisner had escaped - she never died in the slaughter.”</p><p>So, she was right - that blue-haired bitch was the missing Eisner. “I saw her, but that idiot Solon let her escape,” Kronya growled out, before a thought occurred to her. “But if she’s been alive for the past twelve years, why didn’t the reliquary glow until now?”</p><p>“My best guess is that she’s probably never used her name until now, and that renders his identity as ‘dead’, even when she’s not.” He scoffs, and even though he has no pupils, Kronya can feel him glaring at her. “But since I’m stuck here, I need to find her and kill her.”</p><p>Kronya smiled. “Of course. I was already on my way to end the life of that vermin.”</p><hr/><p>If there was one place Kronya had always hated, it was Garreg Mach. That Central Church with its oh-so-holier than thou aura and their disgusting devotion to their Goddess. If she had her way, she’d burn the whole place down.</p><p>But she can’t, not unless she wants to start a war against three factions, and then Cornelia would have her head, so Kronya is forced to leave it for now. Still, the desire is still there, and probably the only thing keeping her warm in this cold as she stomps her way through the snow, keeping a vigilant lookout for the sky patrol or any Knights lurking around. She may have donned her Monica disguise to hide the marks that don her as Agarthan, but the Sealed Forest is a place that’s strictly forbidden from being entered.</p><p>And why? It’s just a forest. Nothing holy or sacred about it. Maybe she can burn this place down instead.</p><p>But she doesn’t have time for that right now - she has a meeting with Jeritza, and she has no desire to be caught out here when the Knights make their rounds around the forest looking for trespassers.</p><p>Except her meeting with Jeritza was supposed to be here five minutes ago, and yet he was nowhere to be seen. Kronya had heard that Jeritza was doing his Death Knight business in Garreg Mach, killing young men and woman during the knight, and sent word to meet her out here, but he hasn’t shown yet.</p><p>“Jertiza! Where the fuck are you?” Kronya shouted to the empty woods, before she unsheathed her dagger and dug it into the bark of a tree, uncaring if someone else heard. She could just kill them.</p><p>“What do you want?” A raspy, echoing voice came from behind her. Kronya whirled to see Jeritza stepping out from behind a small clearing between the trees. He was decked out in his usual Death Knight armor, including that gaudish horned helmet with the blood red eyes and shimmering scythe. What the fuck was up with that getup?</p><p>“I have a job for you,” Kronya said, removing her dagger from the tree and inspecting the blade. Still sharp enough to slit a man’s throat, good.</p><p>“What kind of a job?” Jeritza asked, blood-red eyes staring at her, unmoving, unblinking. Ugh, didn’t he know about a little something called identity and being undercover? How did he even get out of the walled city in that getup? It was late in the evening, sure, but night hadn’t completely fallen yet.</p><p>“I need you to kill someone,” she said simply. There. Jeritza - no, the Death Knight - seemed to stand a little straighter, and the red glowing eyes seemed to brighten a bit more.</p><p>“Understood. Who do I need to kill? They’re not a weakling, are they?”</p><p>Kronya rolled her eyes. “Of course not - they’re just vermin,” She lied. “Her name’s Byleth - she’s the splitting image of Princess Byleth, and my best guess is she’s headed to Garreg Mach soon, if she isn’t already there. Blue hair, blue eyes, a hat. She’s traveling with two companions, a man with long-purple hair and a long chin, and a dark-skinned boy with slicked back hair, green eyes and an earring in one ear. Feel free to kill all of them.”</p><p>“Very well,” The Death Knight said, his voice echoing off the trees, before he turned, and he was gone.</p><p>The Death Knight may be a pain in her ass, but at least he can get the job done, unlike Solon. If anyone here could end the life of that pathetic princess, it was him.</p><p>And if he failed, well… Her knife has been itching to taste blood, anyways.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>God i hate Kronya but... she’s surprisingly fun to write.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. old friend, new acquaintance</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Claude, By and Lorenz arrive in Garreg Mach. While there, Lorenz and Claude meet someone long thought dead, and Claude learns some shocking news</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I know that in the movie it goes right from learning stuff to the boat but there is a reason I’m putting three Garreg-Mach based chapters in this which will have stuff that will be explored later.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Claude</p><p>Getting into Garreg Mach was easier than Claude had thought it would be. Considering how tight the security was to protect against any Agarthans trying to sneak in and the revolver they had with them, they got through pretty quickly.</p><p>Of course, they did have a lot of stares thrown their way, and Claude wasn’t able to tell if it was because of his darker skin and the revolver on his hip, the fact Lorenz looked like the late Count Gloucester or the fact that By looked like the spitting image of Byleth Eisner, he couldn’t tell. Wasn’t sure he wanted to know.</p><p>Either way, Claude had a plan. The three of them had been walking and sleeping on the cold hard ground for a week, and he was eager to get into a real bed and have a nice warm shower and sleep for about eighteen years, and the other two agreed with him.</p><p>So, their first stop was a inn to stay for the night. And, blessedly, the prices were already so much cheaper than what they were in Derdriu, a mere 200 coins a night instead of the outrageous 400 coins it had been there. Already, Claude could feel his wallet thanking him.</p><p>It was amazing, how a simple border and change in territory could make the prices change like tides in the sea.</p><p>Garreg Mach City was a bustling place, a large town at the bottom of a small mountain. Five miles, a carriage ride and some couple hundred feet up sat Garreg Mach Monastery, and even with the roofs and buildings surrounding them, Claude could make out the stone brick walls and high pillars that made up the monastery and the Central Church.</p><p>Briefly, Claude wondered if Lorenz would be heading up there to pray at some point. Although Claude had never been really religious like the rest of the denizens in Fódlan, he knew that Lorenz, despite the restrictions the Agarthans had put on talking about the Church and anything relating to it, was still pious.</p><p>But that wasn’t his problem. His problem, right now, was finding a nice, comfy mattress to sleep on. And he could afford to splurge a little, now that everything was a bit cheaper here.</p><p>However, even though they had agreed to go find a nice inn to stay in, apparently, food was what was on By’s mind right now. If there was one thing that Claude had learned about the girl on their cross-country road trip across Leicester, it’s that she was a glutton, and loved any kind of food.</p><p>So, naturally, now that they were in civilization, she wanted a hot meal not cooked over a campfire. And, sadly, Claude couldn’t disagree - they’d been living off simple rations all week, and he hadn’t had a hot meal since the train, and his stomach seemed to be of the same mindset By had. But he managed to get By to agree to finding a inn first, at least to put Sothis in - they weren’t sure if animals were allowed in the restaurants, as well as leaving the revolver behind. After that, they had started to wander the town, looking for a bite to eat.</p><p>It took about a half-hour of arguing on where to eat, but they finally decided to have dinner at a mid-range restaurant that was said to have amazing steaks, from what information Lorenz had gathered. By and Claude had hidden in a small alleyway, both standing out in different ways, especially vis-a-vis the similarity By had to the missing Eisner. She had a hat and a scarf, sure, but the similarities were there for anyone who knew to look, and Claude hadn’t wanted to draw too much attention to them.</p><p>The restaurant was a quaint little place, with wooden floors and stone walls. The smell of roasted meats floats through the air, making Claude’s mouth water a little, and there are tree logs supporting an upper floor, with torches placed around them. The wooden tables have been spaced out, small candles set on them, and a stone fireplace crackles in the back. Most of stools at the bar are occupied, and the people chat with one another, lively. Various paintings cover the stone walls, a banner of some sorts hanging over the fireplace.</p><p>“Oh, this place looks amazing,” By says, glancing around the room.</p><p>“It does seem a great deal better than the ‘restaurants’ back home,” Lorenz agrees, making quotations around the word restaurant. “I’m pretty sure that at this point, the only thing they serve is fish and alcohol.”</p><p>“Then let’s take a seat and enjoy ourselves, shall we?” Claude said, grinning. “We deserve a little R and R after this past week, and I’m pretty sure there’s some pheasant with my name on it.”</p><p>A waiter leads them to a table in the back corner of the room, right near the fireplace, and By seems to enjoy the warm, leaning to the side to soak it in. Despite how busy the place looks, it doesn’t take long for another waitress to come over so they can order their food and drinks, so they settled in for their wait, enjoying the peaceful silence from the chatter of the restaurant.</p><p>Or, at least, Claude had been, until he spotted a figure with dark green hair moving towards them. When he did, he sat up straighter, narrowing his eyes at the stranger - he seemed familiar, but Claude couldn’t place where he’s seen him before, and that was dangerous.</p><p>“Can it be?” The man asked in a quiet voice as he approached their table, either not noticing or not caring that the three of them were tense and ready to throw hands. By’s own hands were closed into fists as they sat on the table, head lowered so her hat could shield her face from this stranger. “Are you two really alive after all this time?”</p><p>Claude was quick to pick up where the man had left on, plastering on his easy, nonchalant smile to hide the tension he felt in his chest. “I’m sorry, I think you have us mistaken,” he started easily, glaring up at the man as he tried to place where he’s seen him before. “I don’t believe we know who you are-”</p><p>“No, I think we do, Claude,” Lorenz interrupted with a glare, and Claude blinked at him, taken aback. Lorenz looked from him to the man. “It is you, right, Seteth? And not an imposter?”</p><p>“No, it’s really me - Lorenz, right? Count Gloucester’s son?” Seteth replied with a nod.</p><p>Lorenz preened. “The one and only,” he said, before he frowned. “How did you make it out? I thought only myself, Hilda, Captain Jeralt, Captain Alois, Empress Edelgard and King Dimitri made it out. The Agarthans said every other noble and Church official…” he trailed off and gulped, and when he spoke, his voice was quiet. “Was killed.”</p><p>So <em>that’s</em> Seteth. Now Claude remembers where he’s seen him before - here and there around the palace Derdriu. But they never really spoke to each other, and he’s quietly thankful for that. He doesn’t need anyone risking exposing his real name, the person he was back then, the fact that he’s a Reigan. As far as By and Lorenz knew, he worked at an unspecified job at the palace before the slaughter, that Khalid von Reigan had died twelve years ago, and he wanted to keep it that way.</p><p>Seteth hummed, lips set in a grim line. “I’m afraid that’s true - mostly.”</p><p>“Mostly?” Lorenz echoed. Seteth nodded.</p><p>“Yes. Myself, Flayn, Ingrid and Bernedetta were all able to escape,” Seteth said, and Claude saw Lorenz’s eyes widen to the size of dinner plates. “So have have a few other children of the nobles. Where they went, however, I know not, for their safety and ours.” The man sighs and shakes his head. “As far as I know, Khalid was one of the few who  didn’t - Tiana was heartbroken over his death.” Seteth sighed, deep and weary. “I thought you knew that.”</p><p>Whatever Lorenz said after that, Claude didn’t hear, his words a mere whisper compared to the clamoring in his ears.</p><p>His mom was alive? She’s been alive for twelve years? He couldn’t believe it - he hadn’t seen her in the aftermath of the slaughter, and the Agarthans had always said that... that every Liecester noble died along with Byleth and the other Church members. </p><p><em>They lied,</em> he thought bitterly, feeling like he sucked on a lemon. He tried to process this information, but it was like someone had taken his brain and threw it off a cliff. All he could think about was that his mom was aive, the Agarthans had lied about her death, and Claude was <em>fool</em> enough to buy it.</p><p>After all, Lorenz and Hilda had survived, and so too had Jeralt and apparently Seteth and Flayn. His stomach ached, and Claude felt like he was going to vomit. </p><p>Lorenz was still speaking, his words barely registring through Claude’s fuzzy mind.</p><p>“-but I haven’t had much contact with anyone other than them, and the Agarthans have a tight control on information in Derdriu. Only Hilda was alive, to my knowledge.” He gestured to himself, Claude and By.</p><p>Claude couldn’t help the next words that came out of his mouth. “So where’s everyone at?” He asked, barely managing to say everyone instead of the name his traitorous mouth wanted to blurt out. “Lorenz has been hiding in Leicester, Hilda’s been in Enbarr, and you and Flayn have apparently been hiding here, but - what about the others?”</p><p>Seteth gave him a strange look, and Claude felt his heart leap up into his chest. Did he say the wrong thing? Was he making himself too suspicious? Did Seteth suspect-</p><p>“I’m afraid I don’t know much about that,” Seteth said. “We rarely talk, for our own safety, and my information is few - the Agarthans have the Alliance eating out of their hands. Lysithea is studying here at Garreg Mach, I know that much, and although I never talked with her much, last I heard of Tiana, she and husband moved back to his hometown in Almyra.”</p><p>Almyra. His parents were in Almyra. Claude nodded, shoving his shaking hands in his lap, balling them up into fists so tight he could feel his fingernails digging into his palm.</p><p>“Ah, Seteth, let me introduce you to my companions,” Lorenz said, seemingly unaware of Claude’s internal crisis. By, however, seemed to be, looking at him with an expression he could only guess to be curiosity, maybe concern. “This is Claude Oswald, and the lovely lady sitting with us is-“</p><p>“Byleth,” Seteth said, fixing By with a critical look. “Is that really you?”</p><p>Claude gulped, trying to not let his unease show, but his nerves one second away from being fried. Lorenz had warned them of the fact that there might be people who recognize her here, but Claude still didn’t like it. He hoped they could at least have gotten to Enbarr before people would start to question, <em>really</em> question, By’s identity. In the eyes of everyone, she was dead, and had died twelve years ago <strike><em>just like his mom had.</em> </strike></p><p>If Seteth found out this was part of a larger scheme, Claude would lose his best shot of getting actual, real money worth something in years <strike><em>his best shot at taking a boat home to Almyra, to his mom and dad</em></strike>.</p><p>At the very least, it would prove to serve how well a liar By was. And Claude hoped she was good.</p>
<hr/><p>By</p>
<hr/><p>By had met this man somewhere.</p><p>And no, she’s not talking about pictures and paintings of the old royalty and Church officials. She’s seen him, in person before, heard him speak, once upon a December.</p><p>
  <em>“Won’t mom be upset we’re interrupting her meeting?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>She’s hiding behind a dark red curtain, peering into a small room - an office, based on the size and the desk. Someone sits behind the oak furnishings, the desk obscured by a tall man in blue robes. Short green hair falls down his back, and he obscures the figure sitting on the other side of the desk. The two are talking, but the words fly through one ear and out the other. A tiny hand tugs at her sleeve, and the curtain falls back in front of her face as she looks over to another figure. They’re short, with dark blue hair, half-obscured by the curtain he wrapped around his body.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“It’s just some boring Church guy, we’ll be fine.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“He isn’t just some Church guy, sister - he’s, like… really important. At least, that’s what mom and dad say.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“We’re important too, brother - we’re her kids! Surely we’re more important than some guy.”</em>
</p><p>She just… she just can’t remember where.</p><p>But he looks familiar, he seems - no, he <em>feels</em> - familiar. Like she’s met him before, somewhere, a long time ago, back when her memory still worked. By has met him before, and it’s bugging her that she can’t remember.</p><p>
  <em>“It’s… concerning, to say the least, so we’re planning on-“</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Mooom! Are you almost done with your meeting? I wanna play!”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Sister! Church guy was talking! At least have some manners and wait until he’s done!”</em>
</p><p>Seteth. Lorenz had made By learn about him, his position within the Church. High ranking official to Lady Rhea, had a Crest of Cichol, a wyvern rider, liked to fish, had a daughter named Flayn, took his job very seriously. There were other things about him he told her about, but those six things were the most important, the stuff she would, without a doubt, need to memorize by the time she got to Enbarr.</p><p>So By did. That was how she wasn’t caught off-guard by the question, once she realized who he was. An old ally, an old friend, of Lady Rhea’s - her grandmother, if she truly is the missing Eisner.</p><p>It would explain why he’s seemed familiar so far - she’s probably crossed paths with him once or twice in her youth, if she did work at the palace like she suspected she did.</p><p>
  <em>The person in the blue started to turn around, but a hand grabbed her arm, and her vision turned to look behind her. She can’t make out the face of who she’s looking at, but it’s the boy with blue hair.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Oh, what are you two doing here? You know Mommy’s in a meeting, right?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Meetings are boring, though!” She protests. “Playing with you is more fun!”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“What about the other kids? Can’t you play with them?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“They’re all busy,” she says, looking down and kicking the floor. “It’s boring when they’re busy.”</em>
</p><p>“It is,” Lorenz said before By could reply. “In the flesh.”</p><p>“You were alive all this time?” Seteth asks her, voice somewhere between suspicious and confounded. “Everyone said you were dead after the slaughter. There have been rumors that you were alive, of course, but rumors without evidence are just that - rumors.” His frown deepened, brows furrowing together. “May I ask where you’ve been all these years?”</p><p>As he speaks, his expression sharpens into a glare that made shivers go down her spine - an intimidation tactic, probably, and something to fool a lesser person. But By had always had a perfect poker face, and she’d gone over this with Lorenz and Claude before, the latter shooting her a nervous glance that Seteth didn’t see.</p><p>If there’s one thing By learned about Claude, it was that he had a way with words, something that Ashe would call a golden tongue, his words sharp as a knife, backed up by easy confidence and skills. By may not have had that, but she didn’t have her memories, either - something she could use.</p><p>“I am, yes,” By said, keeping her tone firm and steady. “As for where I’ve been… After the slaughter, I lost many memories, memories that have come back to me, slowly. I did not remember who I was for a long time - it was a mixture of the picture of me going around with the reward for my capture by the Agarthans, what memories I have recovered, and happening upon Lorenz and Claude that led me here. But, please, call me By Pinelli - it makes for safer traveling.” She hopes Leonie won’t be mad she borrowed her last name.</p><p>“On that note, for the same reasons as above, please refer to me as Lorenz Rose,” Lorenz added on. “It would not do for people to find out I was the son of you-know-who.”</p><p>Now <em>that</em> By expected.</p><p>Seteth closed his eyes, inhaling and exhaling, slowly, through his nose. By was worried, for a moment, that he didn’t believe her, but she didn’t dare show it on her face or her posture aside from clenching her fist further. Doing so caused her fingernails to dig into her palm. Vague memories she can’t place flipped through her brain, snatched-up puzzle pieces to a life she can’t recall.</p><p>
  <em>“I’m sorry, but Mommy’s busy too, dearies,” the woman says. “She has important business to tend to.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Oh, it’s fine - this isn’t urgent, we can revisit it later,” the man said, and when she looked up, his back was turned to her again. “I just ask that you be more vigilant in the coming weeks, at least until we have this sorted out.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Of course,” the woman said. “Make sure you take care of yourself, and perhaps you can bring your daughter over for a playdate soon.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I think she’d like that.”</em>
</p><p>“I see,” Seteth finally said after a minute, and By could practically feel Claude’s relieved exhale. “So I am assuming you three on your way to Enbarr?”</p><p>“That’s correct,” Claude said, any and all previous traces of nervousness gone with a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. “Off to reunite Byleth with her father.”</p><p>“And who, exactly, are you?” Seteth asked, turning his gaze onto Claude. His brows furrowed, eyes squinting, and she glanced at Claude, who still looked nonplussed. “Have we met before? You seem familiar.”</p><p>It was only because By was looking at him was she able to see the brief, momentary flash of panic that flared in Claude’s eyes, his smile slipping for just a second. She had seen it a few minutes ago, too, when Seteth had dropped the fact that many of the nobility’s children and Tiana von Reigan was alive.</p><p>More than that, though, Claude had... sad. Sad, and shocked. Surprised. Like it was important to him. </p><p>But then she blinked.</p><p>The panic was gone, and the smile was still on his face, betraying no indications of that brief moment of panic, of the previous shock or sadness or surprise - it almost made By wonder if she had just imagined it.</p><p>“No, I don’t believe we have,” Claude replied, his voice too light, too airy. “Like Lorenz said, my name is Claude Oswald, and I’m just a simple vagabond, looking to survive. Same as everyone else.”</p><p>“How did you two meet?” Seteth asked, looking between him and Lorenz, the latter of whom sighed.</p><p>“When I first arrived back to Derdriu, I decided the safest place to stay was the old palace. No one went there anymore, rumors and the Agarthans keeping everyone away, and it had beds and four walls and a roof. I assumed I would be alone there, but Claude was already living there.”</p><p>“You can say squatting - it’s hard to live in a place that forces you to relocate for safety from the Agarthans at least once a month,” Claude said. Lorenz glared at him, letting out a huff.</p><p>“As you can see, desperate times can lead to… unlikely allies. Though let the record show I would’ve taken anyone else but him, if given a choice.”</p><p>Claude did a fake, dramatic gasp, placing a hand over his heart. “Lorenz! And after all the years we’ve known each other, all the hardships we’ve been through - are you saying that means nothing to you? I’m heartbroken.”</p><p>Lorenz slunk back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. “I suppose I am thankful for you not ratting me out about my lineage,” he grumbled.</p><p>Before this could delve into another round of bickering, Thelma, their waiter, came over with their food. By thanked her, and Seteth seemed to take that as his cue to leave.</p><p>“Well, I am glad to see you two have made it out, regardless,” Seteth said with a nod, before he turned to her. “Especially you, Byle- By, and I am sorry to hear of your memory loss.” He frowned, pursuing his lips together. “If I may be so bold as to ask, but… how much do you remember? Anything about myself, or my daughter, Flayn?”</p><p>Lorenz and Claude exchanged worried glances, and By pursed her lips.</p><p>“Not much, I’m afraid,” she admitted. “It’s all… fragmented. Unclear. Foggy. Some memories are clearer than others.”</p><p>The words felt like a lie in her mouth. Why? Sure, maybe she had no confirmation as to whether or not she was the missing Eisner - that was why they were going to Enbarr, after all - but it wasn’t like she was lying to him about who she was. By just… didn’t know. And if she wasn’t Byleth and happened to be lying to him, it’s not like she did it voluntarily.</p><p>“I see,” Seteth said. “Well, do you three have a place to stay for the duration of your time here? Because if not, I am more than happy to open my home to you three - Flayn will be delighted to see you.”</p><p>The question was directed at her, but Lorenz was the one who answered. “We do - we’re staying at a small inn a few blocks down. But thank you for your offer.”</p><p>“Very well. But if you’re staying another night, at least let me offer you over for dinner tomorrow night at seven,” Seteth said. “You don’t have to agree right now, but if you decide on an answer, I’ll be leading the sermons tomorrow morning at the cathedral - you can find me there. Oh, and you should be warned to not go out too late at night.”</p><p>“Why not?” Claude asked, frowning. Seteth’s face pinched.</p><p>“A masked individual has been going out late at night, killing young men and women. I don’t know whether or not they are an Agarthan, and the Knights have not yet been able to capture the individual, so I wanted to warn you.”</p><p>“Well, thank you for the information, and we’d be delighted to share a meal,” Lorenz said, apparently speaking for all of them, and he stood and bowed. “Have a good evening, Seteth.”</p><p>“And you. Enjoy your meal.”</p><p>With that, the green-haired man left, leaving them to eat. Claude had already started to dig into his pheasant with slow bites, a scrutinizing expression on his face. She herself tried to remember the dining room rules Lorenz drilled into her, but the earlier conversation about her memories and identity still weighed on her mind, and By lost her appetite.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Seteth, to Claude: Have I seen you before?</p><p>Claude: And I said ‘no’, you know, like a liar</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. small gifts</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Something seems off with By, so Claude picks her brain. Somehow, this leads to shopping.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Claude</p><p>Something was off with By today.</p><p>Claude didn’t know what it was, but he could see it.</p><p>To be honest, Claude wasn’t sure how he saw it in the first place. One of the things that had struck him as odd when it came to By was her general lack of expression. She rarely showed any sort of emotion on her face, barely even smiled. It had perplexed him at first.</p><p>But looking at her now, Claude came to the realization that, sometime over the past two weeks they’ve been traveling together, he had managed to get a read on her emotions. It was in her body language, he had realized, and not her face. Tightening or squaring of her shoulders, shifting from one leg to another, the placement of her hands. It was subtle, but it was there, allowing Claude to get a better read on her.</p><p>And right now, from the way she was staring into her cup of tea, By looked... confused?</p><p>No, not confused. Pensive, maybe. <em>Definitely</em> lost in thought - she hadn’t heard anything he had said to her for the past two minutes.</p><p>If Lorenz were here, he would definitely be a little offended by it. But he had gone up to the monastery for morning prayers, and Claude wasn’t so easily offended by that sort of thing. After all, he tended to ignore people when he was thinking too hard as well, and he would be lying if he said he himself hadn’t been thinking a lot since last night’s bombshell that his mom was alive.</p><p>“By?” Claude asked once more, rapping his knuckles on the table, a little bit louder than he had previously been doing. Her eyes widened, and she dropped the spoon she’d been stirring her tea with, but that was the extent of her reaction.</p><p>“Ah, sorry, Claude,” she said, seeing to realize that she’d zoned out, even if her voice stayed almost the same. “Were you saying something?”</p><p>“I was going to ask if you’re feeling alright,” Claude replied, raising a brow. One of the things he had learned about By was that she was an outstanding listener, her mind never seeming to wander when either he or Lorenz spoke. “You seem... distracted.”</p><p>By hummed, looking down at her tea again, and Claude wondered what she saw in her own reflection. She was silent for a moment, so he sipped at his own cup - Almyran pine, and authentic, too, authentic enough for this to be his third cup. There was a certain irony in the authenticity being in the focal point of the religion that outcasted Almyrans like him, but Claude supposed most Fódlans wouldn’t be able to tell fake from authentic even if they drank it back-to-back.</p><p>“Do you...” By started, and Claude set down his cup, intent on giving her the same attention she gave him when he spoke. “Do you ever feel like... like you’re someone you’re not? Or that your memories seem to be of someone that’s... not you?”</p><p>Claude barely managed to restrain his flinch at the first question. An age-old name he hadn’t used in a long time, and bright green eyes glimmering with mischief he hadn’t seen as long popped up in his mind’s eye.</p><p>He looks down at his glass. Begins to swirl the tea around inside.</p><p>“Why do you ask?” Claude responds, wondering if By will take notice that he didn’t answer her question.</p><p>No, scratch that. She will. She’s perceptive enough. The question is one of whether she's going to think or say or do anything about it. “Is this about our goal?”</p><p>“Yes- Well, no-“ By huffs, and shakes her head. “I... I don’t know.”</p><p>“Not much of an answer.” He’s tempted to say Your Highness, but he doesn’t think that will fly too well right now.</p><p>“My... my memories are all... they’re all... odd,” By says, looking down at the necklace. “Scattered. You and Lorenz keep saying I’m this... this princess, and I don’t know for sure if that’s true or not. But whether it is or isn’t, I still... I feel like I’m lying. Like I’m some sort of... of impostor.”</p><p>Claude sips his tea, mind wandering, and he wonders if By would actually figure it out, that he’s lying, that she is an imposter, and he’s the one making it so. Almyran pine had a woody, earthen taste to it, but now Claude tastes a bitterness that wasn’t there before.</p><p>Almyran pine had a woody, earthen taste to it, but now Claude tastes a bitterness that wasn’t there before.</p><p>He stays silent, and lets By keep talking.</p><p>“What fleeting memories I have... aren’t helping,” she continues, voice slow, measured. “They’ve come back to me, in bits and pieces, over the years. A single puzzle piece out of a thousand at a time. They were never much before, but... now they’re just... confusing.”</p><p>“Confusing how?”</p><p>Her fingers rap the sides of her porcelain cup. “It’s like... my memories aren’t my own. Like I’m looking at someone else’s. They don’t... They don’t seem like mine.” Her eyebrows pinch, lips flattening into a line, her gaze distant as the Derdriu sea, and just as blue. “But they are. I know they are, but they feel like someone else’s.”</p><p>Claude... doesn’t know what to say to that. It’s not like he has a guidebook for dealing with memory loss. Is there even anything he can say to it?</p><p>He sets his cup down, listening to the chatter of the streets. Garreg Mach city is a busy place, lined up and down with stores and bakeries and tea shops like the one they’re at. It’s not as lively as Derdriu, though.</p><p>
  <strike> <em>It’s not as lively as home.</em> </strike>
</p><p>In his silence, By keeps talking.</p><p>“Or maybe I’m just crazy,” she mutters, and Claude looks over at her.</p><p>“I don’t think you’re crazy,” he says, shaking his head, and frowns, looking for something to say. “It probably just feels like that because you don’t know anything concrete. It might... it might be that way until you find your family, until you get your memories back, or you might have it for the rest of your life. But why waste time worrying about it, when you can’t control it?”</p><p>Claude isn’t sure if that was the right thing to say. But By seems to accept it, even if her posture slumps and deflates a little, and she rests her chin on a propped-up hand.</p><p>“I suppose you’re right... It just feels... off. Like I’m missing a part of myself.”</p><p>Claude hums and nods; he knows a little bit about what that feels like.</p><p>It doesn’t take them long to finish their tea, but they both have differing opinions on what to do. Claude wants to back to the hotel and nap for a couple of hours - after spending so long in the woods, he wants to relax in a real bed, thank you very much.</p><p>By, however, wants to do the exact opposite, and instead walk around Garreg Mach and shop a bit - after all, they aren’t leaving until tomorrow, and she's not sure if she’ll be able to come back here anytime soon. Claude tries to fight on her that, saying that even if goods are still cheaper here, they still cost money, money that’s tight enough as it is. After all, they still have to pay for the hotel, the carriage to the port city of Almeman, and then pay for the boat that will take them to Enbarr.</p><p>But then By’s posture droops, her shoulders hanging and the corners of her lips turning downwards, the disappointment evident. For some reason, it makes Claude’s heart twist, and he finds himself conceding to spend an hour shopping before he really realizes what he’s doing. That’s a new one - he usually never backtracks like that, at least not with Lorenz. So why would it be any different with By?</p><p>Then, she does something Claude hadn’t seen much in their travels.</p><p>She smiles.</p><p>It’s a small, tiny one, that’s barely more than the slightest upturn of the corners of her lips, but it’s a smile, from By, whom he’s only seen smile once in the week and a half they’ve been there together. Right then and there, Claude knows he’s made the right choice. A stupid choice, but the right one nonetheless, and he locks up the reason why it was a stupid choice up in a tiny box in his head to be dealt with at a later time.</p><p>Instead, Claude follows her around the shops and the streets of Garreg Mach, adding in his two cents when By looks at the wares merchants are selling. They sell quite a lot, actually, from song and history books to confectioneries and tea to daggers and other weapons. It reminds him a little bit of Derdriu, but better, since people actually look happy (probably because they aren’t under strict control from the government).</p><p>Briefly, he considers getting a new chess set - it was one of the things he had to leave behind when he left Derdriu. It’s during this when his spine crawls, and a bad taste forms in his mouth.</p><p>Naturally, his first thought is, <em>I’m being watched.</em></p><p>As casually as he can, Claude looks up and glances around the marketplace, trying to see if there was anything out of the ordinary. He scans the crowd, the people in it, looking for anyone who looked out-of-place or seemingly watching him.</p><p>That’s when he sees it, on display in the window of a shop across the street; a long, dark blue dress on a mannequin in a store window. It's a simple blue dress, with white-trimmed sleeves folded upwards, and a belt around the waist.</p><p>His next thought is, <em>By would like that.</em></p><p>She doesn’t seem to be a dress and makeup kind of person, not really, but she would need to look like a princess when they met with Captain Jeralt, and that dress would be just perfect to go along with it. It would definitely make her prettier than she already was. Not that she wasn’t pretty - she <em>was</em> - but definitely help. Plus, the color of it matched her hair very well.</p><p>“Hey, By, why don’t we do some solo shopping for a bit?” Claude suggests to By, currently looking over a bag of sweets at a stall. By looks up at him, and frowns.</p><p>“I thought you didn’t like shopping,” she says matter-of-factly. Claude frowns.</p><p>“I said nothing of the sort,” he replies. “I just want to look around alone a little bit.”</p><p>Luckily for him, she doesn’t push, looking at the bag of sweets again. “Alright. Should we meet back at the tea shop in an hour?”</p><p>“Sure,” Claude says, and he hurries away before By can ask any incriminating questions, the feeling of being watched forgotten.</p>
<hr/><p>He probably should’ve brought Lorenz. He knows absolutely nothing about dresses or fancy suits or the like, or anything about sizes - it feels too weird to ask. So, he gets a size he figures is probably a size or two too big and hopes By doesn’t get angry about it.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Man I did not like this chapter when I originally wrote it... this was originally intended to be much, much longer. But the next chapter would not agree with my 3-4000 average word count, because it was too long to be one chapter but too short to be split into two. It had me stumped for a week, especially with how to get from the dinner to the next Big Action Scene in the next chapter should go, before I finally decided to expand on the shopping scene, add in the tea scene and make this part its own chapter. So if this seems a little clunky and out-of-place, that’s why. </p><p>Let it be known I an not a Planner. But we are starting to get to the Pining!</p><p>(Also, Shadow and Bone comes out on Netflix tomorrow and I'm as scared for it as I am excited. I'm just so worried about how they're going to tie the Crows into the plot of Shadow and Bone and how well it'll work out and I won't be able to watch until I get home because I have another fucking standaritzed test that I have to take when I just want to stay home and watch the new series :') )</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. an unexpected dinner guest</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>By, Claude and Lorenz accept a dinner from Seteth, but someone crashes the party</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>By</p><p>To meet up with Seteth for dinner, they left early in the afternoon, since although the monastery and Seteth’s quarters weren’t far from the town, it was still a while walk up the hill, and dinner was at seven.</p><p>Garreg Mach Monastery and the mountains surrounding it were beautiful. They were high enough up that the snow wasn’t completely melted, but there was still wildlife to be seen. Deer grazed on snow-covered bushes and patches of grass with no snow on top, and an eagle screeched somewhere above. There were small gardens along the path that were well-taken care of, the ground itself made of smooth stone for easy traveling for carriages. The monastery itself was also nice, if a bit grand. A large marketplace was immediately past the gates, with vendors selling weapons, battle items, and other goods. Past the marketplace, up the stairs, and past those stairs, a young man in a knight's uniform standing next to a truly massive set of doors waved to them.</p><p>“Hello there!” He said in a cheerful voice, and By paused, staring at him. “Are you the three people here to see Seteth? Claude von Reigan, Lorenz Rose, and By Pinelli?”</p><p>“Yes, we are,” Lorenz said with a nod. “I assume Seteth is expecting us?”</p><p>“He is! His sister, Flayn, is waiting for you at the Knight’s hall to take you there.”</p><p><em>Sister?</em> By asked herself, frowning. <em>Wasn’t Flayn his daughter?</em> She spared a glance at Claude, who had his brows scrunched up, lips pursed, probably wondering the same thing she was. It was… almost cute, his expression.</p><p>Then he seemed to notice her - not <em>staring</em>, <em>looking</em> at him - and winked. By felt her neck flush with heat, and she hurriedly looked away.</p><p>“And, uh, where… where’s that?” By asked, peering over the guard’s shoulders at the door, before glancing around her. Garreg Mach, at just a glance, was… big.</p><p>The guard pointed to his left, and their right. “Go that way, and there should be a set of stairs to your left. Follow those up, take a right into the stables, and follow the cobblestone path down. Flayn has green hair and should be standing in front of the gate leading to it, and she should know what you two look like.”</p><p>Lorenz frowned. “Pardon me, but if we’re to have an escort, why wouldn’t she meet us here?”</p><p>“Well, Flayn is the sister to the Archbishop’s most trusted and highest-ranking advisor, and that puts her in danger from the Agarthans that try to sneak in,” the man said. “And since I’m the Gatekeeper here, everyone who wants to exit or enter the monastery has to go through me!”</p><p>“I see,” Claude said, nodding. “Well, thank you for your help, Gatekeeper, but we’ll be on our way if you don’t mind. I don’t think Seteth would want us to be late, since we <em>all</em> agreed to join.” That last sentence was punctuated with a glare towards Lorenz, who just sighed.</p><p>“We’ll be fine, Claude. It’s just a dinner,” Lorenz replied, already starting down the path Gatekeeper had directed them down. By frowns - clearly, she’s missing something here.</p><p>“Everything okay?” By asks the two men, looking between them.</p><p>“Claude doesn’t think we should’ve accepted the dinner,” Lorenz explains, as By finds her eye caught by a cat lazing on a barrel in the corner up ahead.</p><p>“Why not?” She asks, absentmindedly wondering why there was a cat there. Now that she thought about it, she recalls seeing a brown dog lying under a stand in the marketplace, and another cat sitting on a table in the corner of the marketplace.</p><p>“I just don’t think we should be meeting with someone who knew so much about Byleth Eisner so soon,” Claude replied, crossing his arms over his chest. “After all, you still haven’t memorized everything, and-“</p><p>He trailed off.</p><p>“Claude?” By asked, tearing her gaze away from the cat to look at him. “Everything okay?”</p><p>“I’m fine - it’s just stupid,” he said dismissively, waving a hand. “My brain is still in that <em>Occupied Derdriu and Running From Agarthans</em> mindset - worried something bad is going to happen.”</p><p>“...Like what?”</p><p>A shrug, and a refusal to meet her eyes. “Something. As I said, it’s stupid.”</p><p>Claude went silent, and By frowned, wondering if he was okay. But he didn’t seem to want to talk, and Lorenz was starting onto a reminder of how they should sit and eat and all that other decorum stuff they <em>(mostly she)</em> would need to do while they were there, so By left it alone.</p><p>It took them only a few minutes to spot a young girl with mint-green hair, a few shades lighter than Seteth’s own but undoubtedly part of the same bloodline. The girl - Flayn, By assumed to be - was the one who spoke to them first, however, smiling and bounding over to them-</p><p>-and tackling By into a hug.</p><p>She stiffened under the unexpected touch. While it wasn’t like she was deprived of physical contact at the orphanage, most of it wasn’t friendly like this - it was punches and kicks, or high-fives and handshakes and the occasional hair-ruffling. By wasn’t exactly a hug-type of person.</p><p>“Ah! It really is you, isn’t it?” Flayn asked once she finally let go, either not noticing or not caring that A: By hadn’t hugged back and B: people were staring at them now. Instead, the young girl grabbed her hands, smiling widely, her green curls bouncing up and down as she did. “When my brother said that you were alive, I could not believe it, but here you are!”</p><p>“Oh, uh-”</p><p>“It is good to see you again after so long! When my brother and I had heard about your death, we were crushed-”</p><p>“Um, well-”</p><p>“And yet here you stand, looking not a day older than you were before!” Flayn barreled on as By floundered, out of her depth here. She glanced up at Claude, hoping he had a way to get out of here, but he just looked as anxious as she was. “Even though it’s been twelve years since I’ve seen you - what took you so long to come back?”</p><p>By decided to put herself out of her misery, and she took a step back, giving her some space from the girl, and she held up a hand.</p><p>“About that,” By started, shifting her weight. “I am afraid that I’ve lost my memories. Or, most of them,” She amended, wincing when the girl blinked, her mouth falling open into a little<em> ‘O’</em> shape. “I did not remember much of anything over twelve years ago, and that’s why it took so long to escape because I did not remember… who I was. Am.”</p><p>
  <em>Why wouldn’t have Seteth told her that?</em>
</p><p>“Oh, I see,” She said, frowning, and she let go of By’s hands, taking a step back, gaze lowered. “So… I assume you don’t remember me?”</p><p>“I don’t.”<em> It’s not a lie, it’s not a lie, it’s not a lie.</em> “I’m sorry.”</p><p>Flayn nodded. “Very well. I understand,” she said, and all traces of sadness vanished in an instant. “Then I suppose we’ll have to make new ones, starting with this dinner! Come, my brother has been waiting for you! I hope you three like  whitefish sauté!”</p><p>Not waiting for the two of them, the young girl <em>(how old was she? She looked no older than fourteen, but the slaughter happened twelve years ago)</em> turned and walked over to the gate a few feet ahead, across from a tall hedge wall.</p><p>“Is it just me, or is it odd that Seteth hadn’t told Flayn about my… predicament?” By whispered to Lorenz, glancing over at the man. He shrugged, a frown of his own on his face.</p><p>“Maybe he thought it kinder to hear it from you.”</p><p>“I’m not sure if that’s kinder or not.”</p><p>“Well, think about it - if you were receiving bad news from a certain someone, would you want to hear it from someone else, or from the person itself?”</p><p>By considered that.</p><p>“Still doesn’t explain why she-”</p><p>“Come on, you three, let’s go!” Flayn said, waving, and a moment later, By felt a hand pat her on the shoulder.</p><p>“Yeah,” Claude agreed, looking at her. “If we’re going to be forced to be here, the least thing I want to do is eat while the food’s still hot.”</p><p>Well, By couldn’t argue with that. So, ignoring the looks she was getting from a few of the nearby guards, By, Lorenz, and Claude followed Flayn to the gate.</p>
<hr/><p>Seteth and Flayn’s quarters were very nice, with that homey, lived-in feeling the orphanage just didn’t have. It was large and spacious, the door opening up into a parlor room with wooden walls and a silver rug with fancy designs on it. There’s a large wooden table with a white tablecloth on it in the middle of the room, an expensive-looking tea set placed on it. Ornate wooden chairs with cream cushions surrounded it, and pressed against one wall as a matching sofa. In the corner, By spotted fishing poles resting against the wall. It wasn’t an overly-fashionable room by any means, like the palace was, but in her clothes, By felt a little out-of-place and underdressed.</p><p>Flayn bounded over to the left, into what By assumed was the dining room. “Father, Byleth and her friends are here!” She called, as By drifted towards one of the chairs. “Is the food done?”</p><p>“Just a few more minutes, Flayn,” Seteth called out, and through the doorway, above and past Flayn’s shoulders, she could see Seteth moving around in the dining room<em> (or is it a kitchen?)</em></p><p>“Well, why don’t you three make yourselves at home, in that case?” Flayn said, turning around and smiling. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen anyone I knew from thirteen years ago, I’d love to chat.”</p><p>“In that case, I have a question for you,” Lorenz said as Flayn flitted over to the chair across from By. He was currently inspecting the pot tea that sat on the small table, while Claude had taken a seat on the couch.</p><p>“Of course! I will be happy to answer any questions you may have,” Flayn said brightly, her eyes shining. “My brother does not allow me to talk to most people around my age - he’s very protective, so I do not get a chance to talk much to others.” Her voice dropped to something just above a whisper when she said that.</p><p>“Well, it’s a simple question - is there any tea in this pot?” Lorenz asked, pointing at the pot in question as he looked up at Flayn. Claude rolled his eyes.</p><p>“No, that pot is for decoration only, but we may have some tea somewhere in the kitchen,” Flayn muses, looking over her shoulder. “I will have to ask my brother if we have a pot and some cups.”</p><p>“Very well.” Lorenz took a seat next to Claude, who leaned forward at Flayn.</p><p>“I have a question of my own, if you don’t mind me prying a bit,” he said, and By had the sudden feeling that this would not be a nice question.</p><p>“Pry into what?” Flayn asked, tilting her head.</p><p>“Why do you call Seteth your brother when he’s actually your father?” Claude asked, raising a brow and crossing one leg over another languidly, leaning back in the couch. By had to resist the urge to glare at him. How come he gets to sit like that while she has to keep her back straight and her hands resting on her knees?</p><p>Flayn’s eyes widened comically. Clearly, whatever she was expecting wasn’t that. Lorenz glared at Claude.</p><p>“Claude, you don’t just ask her something like that out of the blue!” He scolded him, turning away from the teacup to cross his arms over his chest. “It’s rude.” Lorenz then sighed, and turned to look at Flayn. “I’m sorry about him. Unlike the rest of us, he grew up in a barn.”</p><p>“Ex-<em>cuse</em> you, but I grew up in a dilapidated palace that’s been abandoned for ages,” Claude retired, raising his hands in the universal sign of peace. “Don’t blame a guy for being curious.”</p><p>By couldn’t refrain from making a rather unladylike snort at that comment, and she covered her mouth with her hand. Claude and Lorenz both glanced in her direction when they heard it, but while Lorenz glared at her, Claude just grinned and winked. For some reason, that simple action made her stomach flip.</p><p>“Well, I believe I may have an answer for that question,” Seteth said, and By’s head swiveled to look at him. He was standing in the doorway wearing blue robes with a gold-embroidered trim, and she absentmindedly wondered how much that cost. Probably more than all the money the three of them had combined. “We are father and daughter, yes, but… just as how the Agarthans hunt for you-“ he nods towards By - “They still continue to hunt other members of the old royalty that escaped. I know that Captain Jeralt faces at least one assassin attempt a month from them. So, in an attempt to keep our secret at us being members of the old royalty and confidants of the late Lady Rhea, we pose as brother and sister here. As such, we also ask that you keep this a secret.”</p><p>“Sure thing,” Claude said, grinning. Lorenz nodded.</p><p>“Of course. With the exception of Claude, we are all in the same boat vis-a-vis our identities.”</p><p>“I will, too,” By said, frowning at the look on Claude’s face. His smile was still in place, but it didn’t reach his eyes, and there was a certain bitter look in them.</p><p>Before she could inquire about that, though, Seteth cleared his throat. “Thank you for that. Now, I hope you three are hungry, for the food is done.”</p><p>“‘M starving,” Claude said, rubbing his hands together as he stood up. With that declaration, the group dispersed to the dining room.</p><p>“Make sure to wash your hands,” Flayn asked as they walked in, and she pointed to a small door in the corner of the room, across from a hanging decoration of a shield with two lances going behind it. “The bathroom is down the hall, at the very end.”</p>
<hr/><p>Dinner was a chatty affair, during which Seteth and Flayn bombarded By (and by extension, Lorenz) with all sorts of questions. At first, they were ones about her memories, anything older than thirteen years. But when it became clear that By did not remember as much as they had hoped, their questions turned to more recent events. Seteth asked about her time at the orphanage, how she, Lorenz, and Claude had met, what Lorenz had been up to the past few years in hiding, and other stuff like that. Flayn, meanwhile, asked about simpler stuff, such as their hobbies and likes and dislikes. Again, both of those were directed mostly towards herself and Lorenz, since Claude seemed much more content with eating than he was talking, something Seteth seemed to take notice of.</p><p>“And what about you, von Reigan?” Seteth asked the brunette, setting down the glass of water he’d been drinking. “What did you do before you met Lorenz and By?”</p><p>“Well, I worked at the palace for a few years before the slaughter,” Claude said, but as usual, didn’t give any more details than that. “Afterwards, I flitted between odd jobs in Derdriu - lotta people liked my sharp eyes and sharp mind. Did a lot of math and analytical stuff, surprisi-“</p><p>It was at this moment that the wall exploded.</p><p>By leaped backward as the wall caved in with a burst of sound and purple, Flayn yelping as she rocketed backward from her seat. Both chairs clattered to the ground. Seteth, meanwhile, shot to his own feet, already facing the wall as it caved in.</p><p>“What in the name of the Goddess is this?!” The man cried out, the shock and outrage visible in his voice. By, backed up against the wall next to Claude and Lorenz, peered past Seteth into the darkness.</p><p>And then promptly felt her heart stop in her chest.</p><p>Against the dark shadows of night, By could only just barely make out a figure against the dark, who appeared to be sitting atop a mount of sorts. It was hard to see clearly. What she could see clearly, however, were the two blood-red lights, standing out bright against the night’s inky blackness.</p><p>What's more, though, was that they were looking right at her.</p><p>“That face…” the - person? Man? - said in a hollow voice that rattled and bounced and shook, sending shivers down her spine. It felt like barbed needles were digging into her skin. “You must be…”</p><p>That was all the man said before he attacks.</p><p>He charges forward swinging a lance - no, a <em>scythe</em> - at Seteth, and By extension, Flayn. The man just barely manages to dodge, the pointed blade of it swinging over his head. Flayn, halfway up from getting off the ground, shrieks, and drops to the wooden floor once more.</p><p>“Flayn!” Seteth cried out as the red-eyed man stopped in front of the table, it being the only thing separating that scythe from the three of them.</p><p>Actually, who was she kidding. That scythe was so long the table wouldn’t help them at all.</p><p>The man was tall, wearing a skull-shaped mask with sharp canines and two horns coming out from the skull, painted a grey so dark it was almost black. The rest of the armor they wore matched the design and aesthetic of the helmet, dark grey and spiky and very impenetrable-looking. In the eye sockets of the skull, two red pinpricks of light shone.</p><p>If this was an intimidation tactic, it was a hell of a good one, rendering all three of them frozen, backed up against the wall like cornered rats. By could feel the shake of Lorenz’s arms, the tightness in Claude’s posture.</p><p>“One of us shall live,” the masked knight said, his gaze never moving from By’s own, seemingly uncaring of Seteth and Flayn, the latter of whom was scrambling to her feet, pressed against the wall opposite of Seteth. “One of us shall die. I will enjoy this dance of damnation.”</p><p>The shift of his arm was all the warning - and motivation - By needed.</p><p>Her mind, previously frozen in place, snapped to work, her hands moving before her brain registered it. She grabbed Lorenz and Claude by the collars of their shirts, yanking them downwards to the floor, drawing chocked sounds from both of them. There was the distinctive sound of steel cutting through wood as the scythe carved a line into the wall above them, probably about right where their necks were.</p><p>Then the clang of steel against steel.</p><p>By looked up, to see Seteth standing to the left of the knight, holding one of the lances from the armor display, the tip of which had been thrust at the masked knight’s neck, but it seemed to do little against the armor he wore. A glare hot enough to match Alliel was carved onto it.</p><p>The masked man turned his head to face Seteth, slowly.</p><p>“I have no need of you.”</p><p>His attention turned from them to Seteth, swinging his scythe in an arc over By’s head. Seteth managed to block the attack, raising his lance in defense. The curved inside of the scythe clashed against Seteth’s own lance, the man shifting to better intercept it</p><p>“Flayn! Get them out of here!” Seteth yells, pushing against the scythe. The masked man is strong, shown evidently when he blew the wall in, but Seteth clearly has a set of muscles under those fancy robes of his, able to force the weapon away. “Through Abyss, to Adrestia!”</p><p>“But-!” Flayn starts, stepping towards Seteth, only to stop in her tracks when Seteth starts to yell again.</p><p>“Go!” Seteth shouts. The masked man swings again, but Seteth ducks under the wide swing and steps forward, thrusting the lance forward again. “I’ll be fine! Just get out of here!”</p><p>“You heard the man, let’s move!” Claude says, and then warm fingers are grabbing her wrist and pulling up to her feet, and he starts to run. By can only follow as Claude runs out to the parlor room and outside into the dark night, Flayn and Lorenz stumbling behind. A cold wind slices through the air, the cobblestone streets lit by torches, but the path they need to take to get back to the main area of the Monastery is unknowable.</p><p>“Wait, what about our stuff?” By asks, looking between Claude, Lorenz, and Flayn. “What about Sothis? I am <em>not</em> leaving her behind.” She almost stumbled over a loose cobblestone brick, but rights herself just in time, her ankle twinging from the near-fall.</p><p>“And the scary mask guy might have more friends at the hotel,” Claude replies, not even sparing a glance at her, his grip on her wrist tight. “Flayn! Which way do we go? Where’s the entrance to this Abyss?!”</p><p>“I know there is one near the dormitories!” Flayn says, and with a speed that doesn’t seem to match her short figure, pulls ahead of her and Claude. “Follow me!”</p><p>A crash sounds behind them, and By sees Flayn stumble for a moment. But she keeps running, clearly trusting her father’s ability to handle himself, and By has no choice but to trust the same. Still, she sends out a silent prayer to the Goddess for his safety. That masked man looked like he wasn’t fucking around, and By didn’t want to entertain the idea of what would happen to Seteth if he lost against the man. She knew, after all, what it was like to grow up without a father, and she didn’t want Flayn to go through the same thing.</p><p>It seems to take ages to get to the gates that separate the Knight’s quarters from the rest of the monastery, but they finally do, and the other stop for a moment to catch their breath. However, By’s veins are burning, the ache of wanting to do something <em>(wanting to run, to hide)</em> making her own chest clench painfully.</p><p>By whirls to glare at Claude and Lorenz as the two pant, Lorenz much more harshly than Claude. “We need to go back to the hotel,” she says to them, keeping her face blank, only her tone betraying her anger. Claude glares right back.</p><p>“By, it’s too dangerous - what if that masked man had friends? Or allies, allies that are staking out the hotel we’re at? Besides, Seteth told us to use this Abyss and get out of here,” He retorts, and By bites her tongue, because he has a point and they both know it. Luckily for her, she has a point as well.</p><p>“All of our stuff is there, though,” she reminds him, throwing out her arm. “Food, clothes, money, our <em>passports</em>. We can’t get to Enbarr if we don’t have the money to pay for our travel there. Sothis is there - isn’t there anything there you need to get?” By then turns the full force of her glare onto Lorenz. “You?”</p><p>“Ah, well-“ Lorenz started, but Claude groaned and cut him off.</p><p>“<em>Fuck</em>,” he curses, spitting the word out. “Fuck, you’re right.” He runs a hand through his hair, yanking at his scalp, and looking up at the sky. By felt a spark of pride run through her chest at that. “Fine, we’ll go. But we can’t stay long. The longer we stay here, the more likely we are to get chopped into pieces.”</p><p>“Great,” By said, and she turned to Flayn. The young woman was wringing her hands together, looking between them and the direction of her apartment. “Flayn, what’s the fastest way to get to the downtown area of the city?”</p><p>“Abyss,” Flayn responds immediately. “Though I can’t confess to know the way - my father doesn’t allow me to go down there much, and many of the Abyssinians there don’t like Churchgoers like myself.”</p><p>“Well, unfortunately, I think that’s our only option,” Lorenz says, pointing. By follows the direction he's pointing in, and Flayn gasps at the same time her heart freezes in her chest. Galloping down the street on a horse comes the masked man, the glowing red eyes boring into them.</p><p>“Father...” Flayn whispers, her voice a shell of the happy, bubbly thing it just was twenty minutes ago. It spurs By into action, and she grabs the girl’s arm.</p><p>“Let’s go!” She says, pulling her towards the gate. She’s not sure if the man’s horse can hop over it, but at least it locks from the other side. Once all three of them are on the other side, By slams it shut, snapping the padlock shut.</p><p>“Flayn, which way?!” Lorenz whisper-shouts, looking at the poor girl.</p><p>“But my father - I need to see if he’s okay!”</p><p>“We’ll get the guards, but you won’t be able to see if he’s okay if you die here!” Claude tells her. “We need to go!”</p><p>“How will we get the guards? He’ll be on us by the time we get to the nearest rotation, and that’s not even counting how long it will take to get a sufficient number of them!” Flayn snaps back.</p><p>A hard look enters Claude’s eyes. “Like this,” he says, voice cold, and he steps up to the gate, grabbing something that was attached to his waist, lifting his arms up. The masked man is closer, now, close enough By can hear the footsteps of his horse.</p><p>There's a small click, and By opens her mouth to ask Claude what the hell he was going to do-</p><p>Bang!</p><p>The familiar, heart-rattling sound of a gunshot rings out through the air, making By jump as the sound of it rings and rattles and bounces around her skull. Flayn lets out a shriek as her arms wrap around By in a death grip, burying her face into her side. On the other side of the gate, the masked man's horse whinnies and stumbles, falling to the ground. </p><p>She gets it at the same moment Lorenz does.</p><p>“Claude, did you just-“</p><p><em>“-shoot him!?”</em> Lorenz gasps scandalized. Claude is already turning around, waving his arm in a gesture for them to move. Surprisingly, Flayn is the first one to move after she lets go of By, taking off down the path. By follows.</p><p>“Claude, did you actually shoot him?!” By asks him, falling into step beside him and behind Lorenz and Flayn. There’s another click, which By <em>hopes</em> his him uncocking the gun.</p><p>“Technically, I only shot the horse’s leg,” he says, not meeting her eyes. “All I needed to do was slow him down - that armor looks heavy, so I don’t think he moves too fast on foot - and hope the shot alerted someone. Two birds, one stone. Besides, I could never get through that armor - you saw how ineffective Seteth's lance was.”</p><p>By gulps, but keeps her mouth shut. She’s no stranger to violence - she’s been in her fair share of battles, of course - and it’s not like he killed a man, but... it still feels wrong on her tongue. Was it because Claude knows how to use a gun with such accuracy? Was it because someone else was after them? Was it because Seteth was either dead or on the verge of death, of leaving Flayn without a father? She’s not sure. She wonders if staying in Derdriu would’ve been better, or if someone would eventually be after her because she looks like the princess.</p><p>But they’ve already made it out of Derdriu, out of Leicester. They’re halfway to their destination. And all By can do is run with it, with them, and hope this leads to something better - to her family.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>They might have had a very pleasant evening had shit not gotten real</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. spare a dance</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>On the ship, By gives Claude a gift and learns how to waltz. Feelings are realized.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>It’s a longer one today, folks, filled with pining and realizations! Hope you guys enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Claude</p><p>Claude hated boats. It was a fact he hadn’t known until he stepped onto the boat in question, but it was a fact that had quickly rocketed up to the top of his list of things he hates, right under the Agarthans and prejudice.</p><p>He’d like to claim that he wasn’t the kind of person who got sick easily, but taking a boat had quickly gotten rid of that claim. After all, his stomach had been in flux since Claude had stepped onto the boat, and seasickness was not fun.</p><p>They’d only been on the boat that would take them to Enbarr for a day and a night, having escaped Garreg Mach three days ago. After Flayn had led them to the hotel to grab their stuff, including his music box, she had gone to reconvene with the knights who had heard the noise of the gun he shot, desperate to check on her father.</p><p>Claude and the rest of them, meanwhile, had taken the opportunity to run to Almeman; Garreg Mach had somehow been compromised by the Agarthans, and Claude didn’t want to get caught.</p><p>So, they had parted ways, taking a carriage down to Almeman, and had just gotten on the boat that would take them to Enbarr yesterday once he ditched the revolver in the ocean.</p><p>His stomach was slowly getting used to the rocking and shaking, but Claude would be lying if he said he wasn’t a little jealous of By. Her sea legs seemed to have come much more quickly than his and Lorenz’s own, for Lorenz has been holed up in the cabin since they got on, and Claude’s been doing his best to try and not throw up every time he walked.</p><p>When he wasn’t doing that, he was educating By on what he remembered about the Church members and the nobles of Fodlan. Although their start was slow, with enough practice and patience, she was slowly starting to get it down to an art, especially once Claude figured out she memorized stuff better visually than any other way.</p><p>Still, Claude couldn’t help but notice that By just… knew things. Knew things that she had no right of knowing. It was unsettling, how she just knew facts and the details of the family that neither he nor Lorenz had told her.</p><p>Facts like how Sitri’s favorite flowers were Valerians, that Lysithea feared ghosts and the supernatural, that Alois had the bad habit of scaring away the fish whenever he went fishing by himself because he was so loud. Claude had once mentioned Jeralt had gotten his X-shaped scar not during a battle, but an accident. Without missing a beat, By had said he had gotten it by scaring a rookie knight, who had then whirled and made an X-shaped slash at his face before she realized who he was. When Claude how she knew, By just got really silent and shrugged.</p><p>It was unsettling. They all silently agreed she had worked at the palace when she was younger, like him. But briefly, Claude entertained the idea that maybe there was another reason why she knew all those facts. He quickly banished them from his mind, however. It was just happenstance, just like how his and Lorenz’s first meeting was happenstance. There was nothing to it, no deeper reason as to why By looked so much like Byleth Eisner.</p><p>After all, she was dead. No need to complicate the trip any further; they just needed to get to Derdriu, present By to the Captain, get their money, and then Claude would be on a boat home to Almyra, to find his parents. He hoped.</p><p>But they had a few days of travel before that would happen. Right now, Claude would just enjoy this break, and the feeling of the salty seawater splashing against his skin. It was only midday, so Lorenz and By had headed over to get some food from the dining room, but Claude was content on staying where he was. The rocking of the ship made him uneasy, but at least out here, where he could move around and see, settled his stomach all the more, and the spray of the water was nice against his face.</p><p>“Claude?”</p><p>By’s voice snapped Claude out of his thoughts, and he looked to the side to see her walking over to him.</p><p>“Hey, By,” Claude replied, smiling. Despite the minor spats they had at the beginning of their trip, an easy companionship had grown between the two of them. It was nice, a vast, welcome difference from Lorenz, to the point his stomach was starting to flip every time he saw her. “What are you doing out here? I thought you were getting food.”</p><p>“I was, but… I was curious as to where you were,” By replied, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. “You make for much better lunchtime conversation than Lorenz does.”</p><p>Claude raises a brow in response. “That so?”</p><p>“At least you make an effort to get to know me. All Lorenz does is drill me about all the information I need to know.”</p><p>He hums in response, nodding, and tries to ignore the heat that makes itself known in his cheeks at the thought By was looking for him. “Yeah. You think that with all the tea he drinks, Lorenz would be a better conversationalist.” Claude shakes his head. “So you were looking for me then, because I’m so much more charming?”</p><p>“Charming isn't the word I’d use, but yes,” By said, resting her hands on the railing next to Claude. Claude grinned.</p><p>“So, you excited to go to Enbarr?”</p><p>She hummed. “Yes and no. It’s been… This has been something I’ve been dreaming about for a long time, ever since I was a kid. It’s always been my goal, to set out and find my family. But… what if I don’t? What if this whole thing is a mistake, or… or I’ll never find my parents? The place is so big, and… and for all I know, I won’t be able to find them, or… or they won’t want me or they’ll be dead…” By shakes her head. “And considering what happened with Garreg Mach and Flayn and Seteth and that knight… I hope he’s okay.”</p><p>“Well, it is a pretty big change,” Claude replied, interlocking his fingers together. “You’re traveling across the country on a hunch and a necklace, and everything is different than what it used to be. You’re going to a place you know nothing about, with barely anything to guide you… I wouldn’t be surprised if you weren’t feeling a little nervous.”</p><p>By glanced up at Claude, her gaze making it seem like she was looking through him. “You sound like you speak from experience.”</p><p>Claude bit his tongue, and glanced away from By. He did know what it was like - back in Almyra, none of the other kids his age liked him because of his mother, and it was the same when he came to Fodlan, just… reversed. He was hated because his father was Almyran, maybe even a bit more since he was a noble. A Reigan, who had the Crest of Reigan and also happened to be the son of an Almyran? Many of the nobles in the Alliance had hated him on principle because of it.</p><p>Only Byleth, Edelgard, Dimitri, and a few scattered other nobles from Adrestia and Faerghus were the ones who didn’t really give a shit about his bloodline.</p><p>It wasn’t the first time someone had questioned him about his past, and it probably wouldn’t be the last, but… admitting how he knew would open up a hole in walls, perfect for By to attack with questions, suspicious, maybe even anger, and Claude… He wasn’t sure if he was willing to risk this tentative friendship they had for an explanation, especially to someone he’s known for less than a month, when he hasn’t even gone over the basics of it with Lorenz, and he’s known the man for years. Besides, it wasn’t like By was asking a question about it - she was simply making an observation.</p><p>Seeming to sense his hesitancy, By spoke again.</p><p>“You don’t have to tell me anything if you don’t want to,” she said, and Claude glanced at her out of the corner of her eye. “I was just… talking.”</p><p>“Thanks,” Claude muttered. “It’s… it’s not something I like to talk about. And as for Seteth… I think he’s okay. He survived the slaughter, and… and that knight seemed more interested in you than him.”</p><p>A tense silence spread between them, both of them teetering on the edge of what they know and what they don’t know. By, seeming eager to break the silence, speaks after a few minutes.</p><p>“Say, actually, I have a gift for you.”</p><p>“A gift?” He queries, tilting his head, feeling his heart skip a beat. By got a gift, for <em>him?</em></p><p>Nodding, By herself off of the railing, wiping at some invisible sea spray on her cheek.</p><p>“Yeah. Follow me, it’s in the cabin.”</p><p>Eager to see what kind of gift By got for him, Claude follows. To his credit, he only hesitates for a moment before he willed himself to descend the steps that would lead them to their cabin. Unlike in the hotel, they all had to share one, and Lorenz was kind enough to let himself and By have the bunkbeds while he slept on the ground. Silently, Claude reminded himself to find a way to thank the man when they got back to Enbarr - he didn’t think he could handle sleeping on the wood floor. They had all of their stuff shoved into the corner of the room, and while By looks for her gift amongst her stuff, Claude takes a seat on the floor.</p><p>He would sit on the bed, but Sothis is sitting there and he’s pretty sure the cat hates him, the two of them engaged in a silent staring contest for a few moments.</p><p>“Here,” By says suddenly, breaking Claude’s concretion and making him blink. He glances towards her, trying to ignore the way Sothis was looking at him <em>(can a cat’s expression be smug? Because she looked very smug at that moment).</em> By is holding out her hand, and in her palm sits a small box. “It’s tea.”</p><p>“Tea?” Claude vocalizes, taking the box from her. “While I’m flattered you got me something, By, I think tea would be more of Lorenz’s thing.” He frowns, inspecting the box. “It’s unlabeled - what kind is it?”</p><p>“Take a look.” By takes a seat on the bed, reaching a hand out to run through Sothis’ fur. She’s looking at Claude with an expression that silently urges him to open up the box and pull out one of the bags.</p><p>When he takes a look at the name of the tea, Claude feels his heart momentarily stop.</p><p>“Almyran pine?” He asks, tentatively, and he’s a little shocked at how steady his voice is, torn between worried and grateful. “Ah, um, what - what made you decide to get this?”</p><p>“At the teashop the other day, you… you seemed to really like it,” By said, glancing away, looking… looking bashful. Like she was <em>concerned</em> about whether or not he would like it. “So I went back and got a box of it. Consider it a thank you gift for getting me this far.”</p><p>Claude was struck. When was the last person outside of Lorenz to take notice of something so trivial like that, something so simple as a certain kind of tea he got?</p><p>“Thank you, By,” Claude said, unable to stop the smile that appeared on his face, and he could feel his eyes wetting with tears, tears of home, of his parents, of his old life. Quickly, he wiped at his eyes so she couldn’t see, and then closed the box. “Actually, I have a gift of my own for you.”</p><p>Her eyes seemed to sparkle. “You do?”</p><p>Nodding, Claude shifted over to where he kept his own bags, setting the tea box in his bag, before he pulled out the box the dress had been put in.</p><p>“Uh, I hope you like it,” Claude said, passing the box to her. “And forewarning that I had absolutely no idea what I was doing when I got it, but I figured it might be something nice to wear when we go see the Captain.”</p><p>He hands the box to By, sitting on the bed, and Claude shifts in place as she opens up the box and pulls out the dress.</p><p>“A dress?” She asks, her voice betraying no indication of what she thinks about it. As By lifts the dress up, standing up and holding it up, Claude winces internally - it’s <em>definitely</em> too big.</p><p>“Yeah,” he replies, rubbing the back of his neck, looking for any indication, any small tell of hers that would betray what By thought of it. “I, uh, hope that wasn’t too untoward.”</p><p>To Claude’s relief, she shakes her head and spins it around, holds out one of the arms, and- and was that a smile on her face?</p><p>“No, it’s not, it’s just - are you sure this is a dress? Because it looks - it looks like you brought me a tent!”</p><p>To Claude’s utter bafflement, she starts to <em>giggle</em>. Like, full-on shoulders shaking and a smile on her face giggling. It’s… it’s <em>cute</em>. It’s unbelievably cute.</p><p>Where did that thought come from? And why did it make his chest feel warm? Sothis, currently sitting on the bed, looks very unimpressed, and Claude has to resist the urge to point at the cat and say something to her.</p><p>Claude has a suspicion, but before he can even begin to think it, By pokes her head inside the dress, but from the collar instead of the bottom.</p><p>“What are you doing?”</p><p>“I’m looking for the monastery - I think it’s somewhere in here!” By replies as she wriggles her head out of it. Claude pouts.</p><p>“Just try it on,” Claude grumbles, standing up. The ship and his stomach both are swaying, and he thinks he needs some air.</p><p>As he exits the cabin, By giggles some more, and Claude is almost - <em>almost </em>- tempted to stay, just so he can hear it more. But everything is really warm right now, and he needs some air, so he exits the cabin.</p><hr/><p>It’s later that day, at dusk, when Claude gets to see By in the dress.</p><p>They’re sitting out on the deck of the boat, currently kicking Lorenz’s ass in chess with the new set he got from Garreg Mach. He had just called out a victorious checkmate when Lorenz stands. A moment later, someone behind Claude clears their voice.</p><p>“Oh, By, you look absolutely wonderful!” Lorenz says, and when Claude looks up, there’s a smile on his face. Curious, he glances over his shoulder to see what had made Lorenz smile so.</p><p>He promptly feels his heart stop in his chest and his jaw drop.</p><p>She’s wearing the dress he gave her earlier, but she must have some sort of skill with a needle, for the dress now fits her beautifully. It’s not a conventionally pretty dress like anything Byleth would’ve worn, but it’s perhaps the simpleness of it that makes outlook all the nicer. Her hair is pulled back up in a simple ponytail, but with a silver headband resting atop her scalp, and although it’s hard to tell from here, but it looks like she’s wearing makeup.</p><p>And it wasn’t like she wasn’t attractive before - that had become apparent to Claude within moments of meeting her, he had to admit it.</p><p>But now By was, in a word, beautiful.</p><p><em>Oh no</em>.</p><p>He’s… in trouble.</p><p>Gulping, Claude clumsily stood to his feet, hoping that the blush - because there was no point in lying to himself, he was <em>definitely</em> blushing - could be seen as slight flush from the cold of the evening.</p><p>Ironically, that was a lie, because they were far enough south that even the winter air was merely more than the equivalent of a mild summer evening breeze in Derdriu.</p><p>“I don’t recall you having a dress like this. Why, just yesterday you were saying you didn’t have one.” Lorenz was still speaking to By, who was spinning around and showing off the dress to him. Sothis, as proud and loyal as ever, was by her feet, licking her paw. When she stopped, Claude wondered if that was a blush of her own he saw on her cheeks.</p><p>“Claude got it for me,” By said, looking over Lorenz’s shoulder at him. For once at a loss for words, Claude waved sheepishly. Lorenz hummed.</p><p>“Well, that was a mighty fine choice indeed,” Lorenz replied. If it wasn’t for the look he had on his face and Claude’s inability to find his tongue, he’d start mercilessly teasing Lorenz for making what sounded like a compliment. As it was, he didn’t, and Lorenz turned back to By. “Captain Jeralt will have no doubt that you are the princess when he sees this.”</p><p>Something suddenly occurred to Claude. “Wait, why were you talking to Lorenz about dresses?” He asked, the question directed to By.</p><p>“Well, Lorenz was saying something about teaching me how to dance, and wondered if I had a dress to practice in,” By said, looking down at herself. “Something about people usually being in a dress when they dance.”</p><p>Claude looked at Lorenz in surprise. “You’re going to teach her how to dance?” He asked, frowning.</p><p>“Something like that,” Lorenz nodded. “As it is, I feel it best to walk the two of you through the dance, so I can observe and critique as needed.”</p><p>“Wait - you’re going to have the two of us dance?” By queried, pointing between the two of them. Lorenz nodded, smiling.</p><p>“Why, it’s only natural.”</p><p>Ob, Claude did not like what Lorenz was insinuating there. By seemed to have her own concerns, reaching up to fiddle with her necklace.</p><p>“I’m not very good.”</p><p>“That’s what I’m here for,” Lorenz said, sweeping into a small, dramatic bow. “As it is, we have two days of sea travel to practice, and practice makes perfect, so let’s get started. By, I’ll walk you through the basics first, and then you can practice with Claude.”</p><p>By nodded, although she didn’t look very sure of herself. Claude was silently inclined to agree - he wasn’t sure how good he himself would be at it. He hadn’t had much of a chance to practice it when he was a kid, nor did he really care to. At the time, he had thought the dances the Fodlan nobles did were too stiff, too boring, not like dances in Almyra, free and wild and untethered. So he never really cared to learn the steps.</p><p>“And one, two, three...”</p><p>Well, once, but…</p><p>
  <em>“I still don’t have to see why I have to do this,” he mutters, glaring disdainfully down at his feet, barely able to see them in the dark of night. “Your dances are really stuffy and boring. You do know that, right?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I do,” Byleth says in response. “But I do say that there is a certain elegance we have that Almyran dances don’t.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I know that. It doesn’t mean I have to like it.” Crossing his arms over his chest, he absentmindedly blows his braid out of his face. “My uncle’s already getting better, and if my mom has anything to say about it, we’re going to be heading home soon. She hates being here as much as I do.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Weren’t you the one who said you’d rather do it with someone you know instead of a tutor?” Curious blue eyes are staring at him, either completely oblivious or uncaring of his current internal crisis.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Well, yes, but - I was just saying it! It doesn’t mean I actually want to learn it. Especially not this late at night - your parents’ll kill me if they find us out here!”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>A soft, quiet chuckle. “No they won’t. Mom would never hurt a fly, and although he doesn’t show it, Father likes you a lot more than the other Alliance nobles.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He snorted. “I doubt that. What reason would he have to like someone like me?” A half-blood Almyran who also happens to be a noble, something Captain Jeralt hates.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Father likes you because you’re different, stupid,” Byleth says, and it’s only the softness in her gaze that he doesn’t take the stupid personally. “You don’t act like the rest of the stuffy nobles Mom deals with. He doesn’t like you because you act like a bratty child who likes to prank people. Now come on, we’re wasting moonlight - at least try. For me?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Byleth looks at her with that hopeful gaze in her eyes, lit by the moonlight, and his stupid heart agrees before his brain can protest. After all, she’s one of the only people his age who doesn’t treat him like a beast or a coward, the only person he might consider calling a friend here. More than that, she’s actually interested in Almyran culture, or what little he knows about it at his age. And at this point, he’s getting desperate for company that doesn’t look at him with either pity, anger, or both.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Sighing he nods. “Fine… but not for too long. Dancing with you doesn’t make it any less boring.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The smile grows, just barely. “Great! Come on, I’ll walk you through the steps.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He lets her, listening to Byleth describing the steps and keeps his gaze locked on her feet as they dance. His form is nowhere near perfect, and he clumsily follows along in tune as she explains what to do.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>But minutes pass in silence, other than her voice guiding him through the steps and the chirping of crickets, the sound of the sea. With each minute of silence and every completed dance where he stumbles one less time, the worry, the need to listen for footsteps fades away, and he starts to turn his focus towards his friend Byleth. She’s smiling, slightly, the corners of her eyes crinkled and sparkling in the pale moonlight, tiny stars above the ocean of her eyes, her hair messy and rumpled with bedhead, and he thinks Byleth looks better like this - real, honest, sleepy - then she does in makeup with her hair all styled and pulled back in a fancy dress.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>It takes forty-five minutes or so before he can get through the dance without faltering. Once Byleth says he has it down, he steps away.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I think… I think that’s enough,” he says, not meeting her gaze or the stars in them, feeling the pounding of his heart in his throat. “I should get back to bed, and so should you, before… before someone notices we’re both missing.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He can sense her disappointment, just barely, in the way her shoulders droop and winces when she agrees, her tone flat.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“You’re right,” she says quietly, and he can imagine her hands fidgeting with the cloth of her clothing. “My brother is probably wondering where I am.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Chewing on his bottom lip, he starts to step away, retracing the path he needs to take to get back to his quarters that bypasses the guard’s nightly patrols, and hopes Byleth can get back to her room without much trouble. Before he can leave their secluded garden, though, he stops and looks over his shoulder at her.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Hey, Byleth?” It feels odd, not using some sort of fancy title for her like he always does during the day, but… there’s something about the secrecy, the mystery, of all this, that makes it feel right. It also gives him the slightest boost in courage to ask the question that’s been on his mind for ages.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Do you think that we.. that we can be friends?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Without missing a beat, she smiles and nods. “I think so,” she says, and a warm feeling spreads in his chest.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He nods back, once, closing his eyes. “Goodnight, princess.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Goodnight-”</em>
</p><p>“-Claude!”</p><p>Claude’s eyes snap open, and his mind rockets forward from memories of the past to present time. Lorenz and By both are looking at him, and he realizes that the former had been speaking to him. Sheepishly, he rubs the back of his head.</p><p>“Ah, sorry - lost in thought,” he says to them. “Were you saying something?”</p><p>“I was just saying that By has gone over the basics of the steps, so…” Lorenz gestured to By, who was shifting her weight from one leg to another. “If you’re ready.”</p><p>“Well, no time like the present,” Claude said, winking at By as he walked over to her. He took her hand, pressing a feather-light kiss to her knuckles like Lorenz has done so many times before, grinning at the small blush that crossed her face.</p><p>Yeah, he was in trouble. <em>Big</em> trouble.</p><hr/><p>By</p><hr/><p>“Okay, since we don’t currently have any music to dance along to, I’ll count, and you two follow along,” Lorenz said.</p><p>The words, however, flew in one of By’s ears and out the other. She was too busy trying to calm her racing heart, and shake off the tingling feeling on her fingers where Claude had kissed her knuckles.</p><p>She did have to hand it to Lorenz for suggesting dusk to be the time to practice. The deck was mostly empty of people, and those that were there were far away from their small little circle, focusing on their own matters instead of them. And that meant By should be focusing on her steps instead of how close she was to Claude.</p><p>“We’ll start off with the box step, as we were practicing earlier, and then go from there,” Lorenz was instructing. “Step forward, step forward, then feet together, then step back, step back. Claude, you follow along and try not to zone out again.”</p><p>By bit her lip to suppress her giggle when Claude turned his head to glare at Lorenz, who looked entirely too pleased with himself.</p><p>“Don’t look at me, focusing on the dancing,” Lorenz said in response to Claude’s silent glare, and he started to clap his hands together. “One, two, three, one, two, three- no, By, let Claude lead.”</p><p>As Lorenz counted them out, By did her best to follow along to the steps - fighting did require a certain amount of footwork, after all - but it was a little tricky when she had to do it with someone else, worried about stepping on Claude’s feet, or going too fast or too slow. Claude, thankfully, didn’t say anything when By did any of the above, and even stepped on her foot once, drawing a quiet apology from him.</p><p>One, two, three. One, two, three. After a few mishaps, By found it easy to follow along to the steps, the repetitive motion coming to her easily, and the steps themselves felt familiar. They danced in that tiny square for a while, before she saw Lorenz nodding over Claude’s shoulder.</p><p>“Okay, you two are doing excellent!” He praised, causing them to slow. “Now, let’s add a turn into there.</p><p>“Claude, complete the first two steps of the waltz. Following that, you’ll place your left foot at a slight turn on the third step, and By, you’ll place your right foot in the same direction. Doing this will allow you to turn slightly as you dance, and the circular motion will always be to Claude’s left, and By, your right. If done right, Claude will start to diagonally face a wall, and so will By, but in the opposite direction. Try that.”</p><p>They did, slowly, and when they were done, By looked at Lorenz. “What now?”</p><p>“Claude will be stepping forward with his right foot, and By, you’ll follow with your back foot. After, Claude will take a quarter turn to the left, placing your left foot parallel with your right foot, and By will follow, but you’ll place your right foot parallel with your left. Claude will bring his right foot beside his left, and By, you’ll follow. Make sure to keep your arms and elbows up, landing softly on the balls of your feet when you perform the turn.”</p><p>Once more, By found her eyes darting down to her feet as she and Claude danced, repeating the motions her feet needed to take in her head. They both seemed to have a little bit more trouble with this, Claude stepping on her feet this time more than he did last time, meaning Lorenz had to stop them every so often for reminders or critiques. But they eventually managed to find a pattern, and By could almost feel a certain grace in their movements. She thinks she could dance like this with him for hours.</p><p>Why does that thought make her stomach flip? But it didn’t flip in a bad way, like she was sick, but… pleasantly.</p><p>“Your… your dress looks really nice,” Claude said suddenly, breaking the spell of silence that had overtaken them. Lorenz had stopped clapping and critiquing some time ago, meaning the only sound had been the crash of the waves against the side of the boat.</p><p>“Well, you did pick it out for me,” By replied as she looked up from her feet to him, trusting that muscle memory would continue to be her friend and let her dance without tripping over herself.</p><p>Claude chuckled. “Yeah. I mean, it looked nice on… on the mannequin I saw, but it looks really good on you. You - you should wear it.”</p><p>By raised a brow, feeling heat rising to her cheeks. “I am wearing it.”</p><p>Maybe it was just from the coldness of the evening, but By wonders if she saw Claude’s cheeks darken a little. “R-right,” he said, his gaze darting away from her. “I’m… I’m trying to compliment you.”</p><p>She couldn’t help but giggle at that. “Well, thank you, Claude. And for the record, you look very nice as well.” The rays of the setting sun were doing wonders for him, casting the world and Claude in soft pink and golden light, pink to match the heat she felt on her cheeks and the gold of his personality.</p><p>“Oh? Is my face really that interesting?” Claude asked, a hint of teasing to his voice as he leaned forward a bit, until his nose was only a few inches away from hers. But he was smiling, and smiling something genuine, too - for once, she could actually see it reaching his eyes, crinkling the corners of them.</p><p>By felt the warmth in her cheeks heat up and spread down to her neck. Why was he so infuriatingly charming? She’s been flirted with before by both strangers and friends, and By considers Claude a friend. But it’s never had this effect on her before. Not unless…</p><p>
  <em>Oh.</em>
</p><p>That’s why.</p><p>Dorothea and Ashe were both romantics at heart, and they both had an opinion on what it was like to fall for someone. Ashe, growing up on stories on knights and heroes, had described as something slow, built up with small gestures that mean the world to the other, something that you didn’t realize was happening until it was almost too late to do anything about it, or until one puts their life on the line for the other. Dorothea had described it oppositely, that instead of heroic sacrifices, she says it’s falling in love bit by bit - what they look like, what they do when they’re with others, what they do when they’re alone, their personality and hobbies, and even their flaws, and then all at once, when you look at them one day and it hits you that you love them.</p><p>But both of them had claimed that, when By fell in love, it would be beautifully, and be like something out of a romance novel, that her heart would swell and she would just want to hold that person close and lean in and kiss them slowly.</p><p>And, okay, fine, maybe Dorothea had been right on the <em>What Falling In Love Was Like</em> front - realizing you may or may not have deeper feelings for someone <em>(By won’t call it love, not right now)</em> during a waltz on the deck of a boat at sunset with no one around was romantic. But when By realized that hey, maybe she did like Claude more than a friend hit her, it didn’t feel like anything Dorothea and Ashe said it would be like.</p><p>Instead, the ship rocked and swayed dangerously under her feet, and a certain weight settled on her chest, her heart beating dangerously fast when By realized just how close she was to Claude.</p><p>Wondering if he could hear the pounding of her heart, By slowed her steps. “I’m getting dizzy.” Because there was no denying that she was.</p><p>“Like you’re getting lightheaded?” Claude asked, slowing his steps as well. She nodded, and he hummed. “Probably from all the spinning.”</p><p>It <em>wasn’t</em>, but there was no need to tell him that.</p><p>“We should stop,” By fumbled, even though they had already stopped, but Claude’s hand still lingered on her waist.</p><p>“We have stopped,” Claude said with a lopsided grin, and he started to lean forward a little bit. By found herself leaning forward as well, frowning a little when the grin on his face slipped into something more serious. “By, I…” He started, but then trailed off.</p><p>“Yes?”</p><p>Sothis, apparently jealous of all the attention she was giving Claude, jumped up onto By’s shoulders, meowing incessantly. The action snapped By out of her reverie, and she turned to look at her.</p><p>“What do you want?” She asked the cat, glaring at Sothis and trying to ignore the way she could feel her heartbeat in her throat.</p><p>Claude pulled away from By, then, letting go of her hand and taking a step back.</p><p>“It’s… It’s getting dark,” he said, the words sounding clumsy to By’s ears. “We… we should get some sleep.”</p><p>Her chest heavy, By reluctantly nodded in agreement. Before she could say anything, Claude turned and sped off to the stairs that led to the lower deck, leaving By to look at Lorenz, who had an odd look on his face.</p><p>“Do… do you know what that was about?” By asked, pointing in the retreating Claude’s direction with one hand. With the other, she reached up and started scratching behind Sothis’ ears because she’s a gremlin baby who can’t go an hour without getting some sort of attention.</p><p>“I’m… I’m afraid I don’t, By,” Lorenz said, shaking his head, lips pursed and eyebrows furrowed. “But we can continue with this tomorrow - you danced wonderfully tonight, By. A few more hours of practice, and I’m sure you’ll dance with enough grace to match the late Duchess herself. Now, as Claude said, it’s getting late, so I am going to turn in as well.”</p><p>By wasn’t convinced of that, but she nodded nonetheless. “Very well,” she said. “I think I might stay out here for a bit longer, though. Goodnight, Lorenz.”</p><p>Lorenz grinned. “Goodnight, By.” After giving a little bow, the ex-noble turned and followed Claude to the lower decks of the ship.</p><p>That left By alone on the bow, with nothing but the crash of the sea, Sothis, and her thoughts for company. Sighing, By walked over to the chess set Claude and Lorenz had been playing a game on earlier, taking a seat on a small crate, mentally making a note to pack it up and bring it in later.</p><p>“I wish you could talk, Sothis,” By said to the young cat, guiding her down to sit on her lap. The tortoiseshell cat started to purr as she curled into a small ball, strong enough that By could feel the vibrations sent out by her. Smiling down at her, she started to run a hand through her warm fur, before she sighed mournfully. “Maybe then you could tell me if I was about to kiss Claude.”</p><p>She stays on that spot, until the emerging blanket of stars in the sky is covered by dark grey clouds that promise a strong rain and the ship is rocking and tilting in the crash of the waves. And as By heads below the deck, Sothis in one arm and the chess set in the other, she can’t shake the cloying, tightening feeling that took root in her chest.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Claude: Okay Lorenz here's the plan</p><p>Claude: We convince By that she might be the missing Princess Byleth<br/>Claude: We go and take her to Enbarr to pose for Captain Jeralt and get the money<br/>Claude: Then I go and fall and love with her during the course of our journey<br/>Claude:</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>If you enjoyed, leave a like and a comment!</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>